Tom Schulte of AllMusic awarded Failure three out of five stars, calling its music "repulsively absurd, detailed personal attacks of venomous cynicism" that "may be as strongly worded as Jonathan Swift (read A Modest Proposal) and exaggerated as Voltaire (compare Pangloss' philosophy to track one)."[2] Ink 19 commended the band's return to Shimmy Disc and the band's individual performances.[3] However, Lollipop Magazine's Scott Hefflon wrote that "while subtly clever at times, Failure provides no instant gratification such as 'Detachable Penis' [and] 'Jesus Was Way Cool,'" and "certainly has its moments, but the musical noodling is distracting and there're only a few "must-have" tracks here."[4]