Failure frontman Ken Andrews has spoken to NME about the band’s past, present and future, shortly after the release of their new album ‘Location Lost’. Check out our full interview below.
The alt-rock trio, completed by bassist Greg Edwards and drummer Kellii Scott, shared their seventh full-length record last Friday (April 24). It marked the fourth LP since their 2014 comeback, after the ’90s-formed outfit disbanded in 1997 following addiction issues within the band and mistreatment from their label. In their absence, the 1996 album ‘Fantastic Planet’ became a revered cult classic, and the group gained notable admirers, including Paramore’s Hayley Williams and actor David Dastmalchian.
Since their triumphant return 12 years ago, Failure have enjoyed a second stint of recording, touring and renewed appreciation, but the road has nonetheless presented obstacles. Most recently, a sudden back injury resulted in Andrews undergoing surgery, shortly after he finished the gruelling editing process for their decade-in-the-making documentary, 2025’s Every Time You Lose Your Mind.
“It’s pretty much back to normal,” he told NME of his injury. “I’m a little bit slower now, but that’s also age. That was a rough ride, but I’m out of it now.” After the time-consuming impact of both the film and his recovery, he explained that reuniting with Edwards and Scott to write ‘Location Lost’ was challenging at first.
“[The documentary] ended up taking the place of what could have been an album cycle, and that maybe had a little bit of a negative effect on morale,” he said. “When we got together, there was a little bit of stress. We were all wondering, ‘What does it mean to be in this band at this point?’ When Greg suggested the title ‘Location Lost’, it really resonated.”
From the trip-hop intro of ‘Crash Test Delayed’ to the art-rock of ‘Someday Soon’, the album pushes Failure’s traditionally moody, pensive sound into uncharted territory. Check out our full interview below, where Andrews unpicked the band’s two eras, discussed how Williams came to feature on ‘The Rising Skyline’, seeing a “big shift” in their audience, and what the future has in store for the “rebooted version” of Failure.
NME: Hello, Ken. ‘Location Lost’ means you’ve now released more albums in your second chapter than in the ’90s. Does it feel like you’ve reclaimed the narrative over your legacy, after the manner of Failure’s breakup and the acclaim you increasingly gained in your absence?
Ken Andrews: “It’s been a ride. We’re pretty surprised that we’re still going, I thought it would be one album. The real challenge has been keeping the band’s sound while actually trying to move forward at the same time. If we’re going to call it Failure and try to keep a consistency through the records, you have to retain something. I’m pretty proud that I think we were able to do that.”
Is moving forward important to you now in a different way to during the ’90s?
“In the ’90s, it was more about getting it right. It wasn’t until ‘Fantastic Planet’ where we felt, ‘OK, this is what we want to sound like’. Cut to the rebooted version of the band, and that wasn’t really a problem anymore. We weren’t fighting with labels; it was more about figuring out where we wanted to take the band and how far away we wanted to go from ‘Fantastic Planet’.”
Does it feel like you’re still riding the wave of appreciation that came with your 2014 comeback, despite the obstacles along the way?
“There’s been a really big shift in our audience since we rebooted. In 2014, it was a lot of people coming back from the nostalgia of the ’90s, and that’s faded somewhat. Now, it’s mostly younger people who are into the band, and they’re coming without having the baggage of us being a ’90s band versus a current band. We saw a breakdown of our streaming listenership, and the largest [age group] was 18-30.”
Why do you think young people are resonating with Failure?
“They connect with the emotion of the music. A lot of people, they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s depressing music’. It’s dark, melancholy, and not what they want to hear. But for people who are tuned into the darker or more melancholic side of their emotions, there’s a catharsis there. The overall effect is uplifting, even though the music isn’t overtly uplifting itself.”
Your documentary, Every Time You Lose Your Mind, took a decade to complete. Was it a difficult process, in terms of both the workload and revisiting the ’90s with such brutal honesty?
“They started filming in 2015, but in 2020 they abandoned the film because of COVID. When I finally saw the footage, especially [comedian] Margaret Cho’s interview about the connection between art and addiction, that piqued my interest, and so we bought the footage. In 2022, I turned my focus back to the documentary… it was cathartic. There were moments where all those memories of the bad times were rushing back. It hit me a few times, the tragedy of the first half of the band’s existence.”
Your former guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen appears in the documentary. What stands out from your time with him in 1996 and 1997, when the band wasn’t in the best place?
“There was an initial excitement about him joining. But the touring on ‘Fantastic Planet’ ended up being pretty fraught because of Greg’s addiction, wondering every week, ‘Are we going to finish this tour?’ It was bittersweet to have Troy join at that moment. It could have been more of a joyous thing, but it ended up being frustrating.”
Would you consider working with him again, much like how his current band, Queens Of The Stone Age, brought out former bassist Nick Oliveri last week?
“We actually took Troy back out on tour [in 2015]. Nobody was having any drug problems at the time, so it was cool to hang out. I would definitely consider working with Troy again. Queens Of The Stone Age work a lot, so his schedule is tough.”
Hayley Williams has publicly been a long-standing admirer of Failure. How much have you got to know each other over the years?
“I was up for producing one of their very first records, but it didn’t pan out. Their self-titled album [2013’s ‘Paramore’], I ended up mixing that. They were having trouble making a decision. [Justin Meldal-Johnsen] was producing the record, and he suggested five mixers [anonymously] mix the same song. They all unanimously picked my mix! I always look at that as a fateful thing, because Paramore had been influenced by Failure.
“Hayley and I text every once in a while. Recently, she hit me up to perform at this benefit show for the LA fires, and that’s when I told her about the new Failure record. After that, I sent her four songs, and she instantly gravitated towards ‘The Rising Skyline’. She said, ‘This is a very different song for you guys, but it’s very delicate’. That’s when I [realised] she could sing on that song, and that would make sense. She was like, ‘Send it to me quick, because we’re wrapping up my solo album‘.”
What did you connect with about her vocals?
“It felt really special. I love the way she sang it; there was a real subtlety to her performance. She knocked it out of the park.”
Have you discussed an opportunity to play the song live yet?
“I don’t really know what she’s up to, but if our schedules somehow synced up, that would be amazing.”
What’s next for Failure? Have you worked through the difficulties that came at the start of creating ‘Location Lost’?
“It’s definitely better than it was, but there’s still a little bit of, ‘What is the future for the band?’ It doesn’t feel like 2015, where everything felt brand new again. There’s a lot more at play in our personal lives now… I’ve always actually enjoyed not knowing my long-term plans, because it keeps things interesting. But everything gets a little bit heavier as you get older, and your time becomes more precious. When we get towards the end of [this touring cycle] is when we’ll probably start having conversations, if we want to keep going or not.”
Conversely, do you find yourself taking stock of how far Failure have come?
“Not too much. We’ve been through a lot as a band. I try to take it all in my stride, because the part that I really enjoy is being in the studio and making new music. That’s my happy place. I don’t see that going anywhere. I’m actually scoring a horror film called Sigil right now. It’s pretty early days, but I’m really excited to be involved.”
Could that manifest into more solo material? Has Trump’s second term inspired you to write from the same creative place as your politically-charged 2020 single ‘Sword And Shield’?
“I’m a little burnt out on the whole political side of things. Between the documentary and my back surgery, I kind of lost the plot for my political expressions. I may come back to it, but as of right now, I’m taking a break, and also from social media. It saps your energy. I guess I feel a little bit of guilt, because people have to speak out and say what they feel. But at the same time, the whole energy spent on social media? It’s not healthy.”
Failure’s new album ‘Location Lost’ is out now via Failure/Arduous. Every Time You Lose Your Mind streamed on Hulu/Disney+ in the US, and the band are currently looking for a partner to stream or broadcast it in the UK/Europe.
Check out Failure’s full list of upcoming North American tour dates below. Visit here for tickets and information.
MAY
02 – Radius (SPACE ECHO), Chicago, IL
03 – Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH
05 – The Basement East, Nashville, TN
06 – Masquerade – Hell, Atlanta, GA
08 – Welcome To Rockville Festival, Daytona Beach, FL
09 – Eulogy, Asheville, NC
10 – Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro, NC
12 – Le Poisson Rouge, New York, NY
13 – The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA
14 – Space Ballroom, Hamden, CT
15 – Union Stage, Washington, DC
16 – Archer Music Hall (Arrow), Harrisburg, PA
17 – Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA
19 – The Shelter, Detroit, MI
20 – The Opera House, Toronto, ON
SEPTEMBER
30 – The Chapel, San Francisco, CA
OCTOBER
02 – Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver
03 – The Showbox, Seattle, WA
04 – Revolution Hall, Portland, OR
07 – Fine Line, Minneapolis, MN
08 – The Waiting Room Lounge, Omaha, NE
11 – A&R Music Bar, Columbus, OH
13 – Warsaw, Brooklyn, NY
14 – The Met RI, Pawtucket, RI
16 – Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY
17 – Headliners Music Hall, Louisville, KY
18 – The Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids, MI
20 – The Vogue, Indianapolis, IN
21 – Delmar Hall, Saint Louis, MO
22 – Bottleneck, Lawrence, KS
23 – Beer City Music Hall, Oklahoma City, OK
24 – Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX
26 – Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO
28 – Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ
29 – Music Box, San Diego, CA
30 – The Belasco Theater, Los Angeles, CA