SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
In the mood for music that might make you feel like you're in outer space? We've got something in mind.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CRASH TEST DELAYED")
FAILURE: (Singing) Your recollection fades. All levers out of place.
SIMON: That's the song "Crash Test Delayed." It's from "Location Lost," the seventh studio album from the band Failure. And don't let the name distract you. Many alt-rock bands cite Failure as an important influence, and the group is beloved by rock critics. Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards of Failure join us now from the road in Toronto. Thank you both very much for being with us.
GREG EDWARDS: Thanks for having us.
KEN ANDREWS: Yeah.
SIMON: Ken, let me ask you about the name. Kind of an inside joke, self-deprecating humor?
ANDREWS: It came from forming in 1990 in Los Angeles, when the hair metal bands were reigning supreme, and we were looking for a bass player. And all the ads that were being published looking for band members had things like, must have pro gear, pro attitude and pro hair.
SIMON: Yeah.
ANDREWS: And we just thought it would be funny for those bands to read an ad that said, band, Failure, looking for bassist. I actually thought that if we ever got signed by a record label, they would ask us to change the name, but they ended up loving the name, so it just stuck.
EDWARDS: Yeah. And I was poring through these ads, looking for a band, and it was grim because every band was a hair metal band at that point in Los Angeles. It was really just one shining oasis - their ad that said they were looking for a bass player with some parallels with early Cure, Bauhaus and Joy Division.
(SOUNDBITE OF FAILURE SONG, "HALO AND GRAIN")
SIMON: And, Greg, you've said that a lot of this new album, "Location Lost," has - I believe your phrase is no precedence in your band's earlier material. How so?
EDWARDS: Well, I think there're just moments that sonically or texturally are different than things we've done before. The majority of the previous records have been built around a cohesive theme or idea that Ken and I discussed as we were coming up upon writing the record and then throughout writing the record. And on this record, that specifically did not happen because, frankly, communication between me and Ken was not great.
SIMON: What do you mean?
EDWARDS: Ken was going through some medical issues with his back, and we were just sort of - had been out of touch since the last record and the last touring cycle, which is kind of common. I mean, we're very close, in a way, but also when we're not working, you know, we can go many, many months without ever communicating. For some reason, on this record, that cohesion of theme was not there. So in a way, I think that's one of the things that's different about this record and maybe even one of the strengths of the record.
SIMON: And, Ken, I do want to get to what you've been through medically but let me ask about the lyrics and sonic themes that evoke a feeling of being in outer space. For instance - well, let's listen to the song "Solid State."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOLID STATE")
FAILURE: (Singing) There's nothing left to do but fall through space. Another body waits to take your place.
SIMON: What's coming through on this song?
ANDREWS: So that song, "Solid State," it was really influenced by kind of quantum entanglement, specifically, this quote from Einstein he called spooky action at a distance. Just, theoretically, the idea of it is so poetically rich to the strangeness of human experience that it found its way into quite a few songs on the record.
EDWARDS: Maybe if there was a difference between the lyrics on this record and previous records, maybe we were speaking a bit more about inner space rather than outer space.
SIMON: Ken Andrews, can I get you to talk about your serious back injury, because I gather you've said that the whole ordeal changed your brain chemistry.
ANDREWS: Yeah. I mean, I'd had a few other surgeries in my life that were kind of a normal recovery. This one really knocked me down. When I first woke up, I was basically in a state of hallucination, and my heart rate was skyrocketing, and they couldn't get it down. I guess, some people when they have their back opened up and exposed, after the surgery, they have, like, sort of mental and emotional issues. So, yeah. It was kind of tough, and it found its way into a few lyrics on the new album.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE AIR'S ON FIRE")
FAILURE: (Singing) It's never felt this way before. Just take me home. Things don't work like they did before.
SIMON: You feature Hayley Williams of Paramore on the song "The Rising Skyline."
HAYLEY WILLIAMS AND FAILURE: (Singing) Now you're untethered.
SIMON: How did this collaboration come about?
ANDREWS: Hayley's been a fan for a long time, since she was a teenager. So we've had contact with her on and off through the years. I ended up mixing one of the recent Paramore albums, and our friendship just kind of grew out of that.
EDWARDS: The emotions that are in her voice, they really seem to be there, and they're subtle and authentic. And every time I hear it, I hear more - just more of a fragility.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE RISING SKYLINE")
WILLIAMS AND FAILURE: (Singing) Hold onto the rising skyline.
SIMON: Failure was active for most of the '90s. You broke up, and you all took some time off. You reunited in 2013, and you've been marvelously prolific since then. And you've been getting new fans, too, right?
ANDREWS: Yeah. Our audience has kind of morphed from people our age who followed us in the '90s to people that are more Hayley's age, actually. And I think part of that is actually because of her sort of championing the band in the press and, you know, late-night TV. But also, just the way music discovery happens now, there's no reason for an older band that's been around for a while to not be discovered by a younger audience. It's more about the music and if it moves them or not.
SIMON: Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards of Failure. Their new album, "Location Lost," out now. Thank you both so much for being with us.
ANDREWS: Thanks for having us.
EDWARDS: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOMEDAY SOON")
FAILURE: (Singing) I saw you like a stranger. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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