''The Power of Failing'' is the debut studio album from the Austin, Texas-based

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

band

Mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

. Released on January 28, 1997, ''The Power of Failing'' was made available on both LP and CD format and has since been acclaimed as an essential album from the 90s emo movement.

Reception

''The Power of Failing'' received extreme praise for its songwriting and honest lyrics. Writing for Allmusic, Blake Butler declared the record to be "a keystone album from one of the most well-known and revered emo rock bands of the '90s", stating that "although the structure is relatively simple most of the time, it is the essence of the music which overwhelms." Brandon Stosuy of

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

said that "Part of what makes ''The Power of Failing'' a classic is that its raw feel and execution matches its emotions."

Legacy

''The Power of Failing'' has been recognized as one of the landmark albums of 1990s

. It has appeared on various best-of emo album lists by ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' Similarly, "Gloria" appeared on a best-of emo songs list by ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

''. In a retrospective thinkpiece entitled "Mineral's 'The Power of Failing' Dragged Alternative Rock in a More Emotionally Vulnerable Direction", Eddie Cepeda of Noisey stated that "bands like

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...

and

Pinback Pinback is an American indie rock band from San Diego, California. The band was formed in 1998 by singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow, who have been its two consistent members. They have rel ...

have Mineral to thank for much of their sound."

Track listing

# "Five, Eight and Ten" – 5:26 # "Gloria" – 3:42 # "Slower" – 5:47 # "Dolorosa" – 5:10 # "80-37" – 4:33 # "If I Could" – 5:59 # "July" – 4:24 # "Silver" – 6:56 # "Take the Picture Now" – 3:16 # "Parking Lot" – 3:52 *"80-37" and "Take the Picture Now" did not appear on the original LP version.

Personnel

;Mineral *Chris Simpson –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

*Jeremy Gomez –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Gabriel Wiley – drums *Scott McCarver – guitar ;Additional personnel *Andre Zweers – engineering assistant *Paul Drake – photography *Judy Kirschner – engineering assistant *Kevin Reeves – mastering

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Power of Failing, The 1997 albums Mineral (band) albums