The legacy of Failure\u2019s legendary third album, 1997\u2019s Fantastic Planet<\/em>, is known to pretty much everyone at this point, and we\u2019ve certainly devoted considerable time to it over the years even in this magazine. And after 2015\u2019s \u2018comeback\u2019 record, The Heart is A Monster,<\/em> and its subsequent tour, fans hoped that the trio of Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards, and Kellii Scott would keep things moving.<\/p>\n Keep things moving they did, and if their new album (2018\u2019s In the Future Your Body Will Be the Furthest Thing From Your Mind<\/em>) is any indication, the band\u2019s best work is in front of them. One needed look no further than their stunning performance at House of Blues on Friday to see that this is a creative unit at the absolute peak of their collective powers. Opening with a trio of songs from In the Future <\/em>before segueing into a series of tunes from Planet <\/em>(including anthem single \u201cStuck On You,\u201d which, no matter how many times you\u2019ve seen it live, hits with unrivaled bombast), the band managed to hit on highlights from every era of their career, and the balance of material was striking. The crisp, driving drone of \u201cUndone\u201d sounded as fresh as it did when it was first released in 1994, and new tunes \u201cNo One Left\u201d and \u201cSolar Eyes\u201d were right at home alongside Fantastic Planet<\/em>\u2019s most recognizable cuts. But it was \u201cThe Pineal Electorate,\u201d the epic, penultimate song of the main set, that made clear how expansive Failure\u2019s sound has become. With a McCartney-esque piano and vocal melody from multi-instrumentalist Greg Edwards that culminates with a full-band coda, the new-album closer was an absolute showstopper. If \u201cLayla\u201d or \u201cHey Jude\u201d had come to us from somewhere in space, this might be what it sounded like. Ending with the ominous crunch of \u201cScreen Man\u201d from their first album, 1992\u2019s Comfort<\/em>, it was refreshing to see that the band\u2019s entire catalog is still in play.<\/p>\n Failure\u2019s musicianship has often been the subject of much praise, and with good reason. Andrews, a production and recording giant in his own right, and his constant trade-off with Edwards on bass and guitar (with Edwards also tackling keys) is something to see; every song in the set plundered new sonic depths and layers of effects that made it tough to even figure out where sounds ended and began, and no drummer currently in the game plays with more precision and intensity than Scott. There\u2019s an aural tapestry created between the three that goes beyond just a band playing a bunch of songs – at five records in, Failure fully inhabit their own sonic landscape, and their best work may well be ahead of them. Miss them at your own risk – Failure in 2019 is as good as live music gets.<\/p>\n For more on Failure, click here<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Failure-House-of-Blues-Chicago-04-05-19-7-1024x683.jpg\")
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