10 Obscure Grunge Albums You Need To Listen To
3. Failure - Comfort
Failure hate this album, and on the one hand it’s easy enough to see why. Produced by Steve Albini, it’s a raw affair, mostly recorded stripped down and live. Listening to their later, self-produced work, it’s evidently not the sound they wanted.
On the other hand, though, it’s an excellent collection of tracks with an abrasive energy that should appeal to most grunge fans. Opener “Submission” hits with a sharp guitar line and crashing drums from the off, before “Macaque” gives us a masterclass in quiet/loud tension. The shuffling bassline occupies the song for a couple of minutes before they finally unload with heavy guitars.
They’re mostly moody, mid tempo numbers, but one of the best tracks is the driving, sub-90 seconds “Princess”, based around two chords and some distorted vocals. It pairs a grinding backing with a cheery melody to create something effectively sinister.
It’s easy to listen to the likes of “Screen Man”, with its rather amorphous soundscape, and see why the band didn’t like Albini’s work, but it might be their finest collection of tunes.