Destination Failure by Smoking Popes

Destination Failure, the third album from Chicago's Smoking Popes, came out on Capitol on August 26, 1997, and it turned out to be a farewell in more ways than one. It was their second and last record for the label, and after Capitol turned down a covers album, The Party's Over, the band called it quits in December 1998 and stayed gone for the better part of seven years. The three Caterer brothers, Josh singing and playing guitar, Eli on guitar and backing vocals and Matt on bass, cut it with drummer Mike Felumlee at the Chicago Recording Company and Conway Studios in Hollywood, with Jerry Finn producing and longtime engineer Phil Bonnet at the desk.

It's pop-punk with a crooner's heart. "I Know You Love Me" nods to Josh's newfound Christian faith, "You Spoke to Me" is about Jawbreaker's Blake Schwarzenbach, "Paul" sits with watching an ex fall for someone new, and there's a cover of "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. It didn't chart, but it's a sweeter, stranger record than its fate suggests.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.