Regular listeners will know that I have often said that The Fall are my favorite band of all time. It all started when I listened to my hero DJ John Peel in the late 70s on the BBC. They were his fave too. I loved the abstract word play that was based in every day observations by leader Mark E Smith. I loved the way that musically they used repetition as a base, finding a groove and working it. And especially in the early 80s when they had two drummers they would walk that edge... Almost but never quite falling apart and derailing, despite Mark E's efforts. He's been hard to love all these years. Some of his attitudes and opinions are hard to stomach, but he's done a lot to demystify the musical process of a band, most notoriously on one of his last extensive tours of the States firing the whole band and quickly hiring new young American members to finish the schedule, including a bafflingly good gig at The Varsity.

You have to admire the tenacity of the man, who is the only remaining founding member. Mark E has been through more record deals than anyone else I can think of from his era, believing independent principals that are hard to keep while struggling to maintain a career, especially when they've never had the big hit pay off day. And they are the only band from the UK's explosion of creativity during the punk and new wave years who have continued so steadfastly.

This is the 32nd studio album, added to tons of bootlegs of live performances and compilations. Notoriously they have never played the same set list twice and refuse to play their old stuff with any regularity. They're hard to love, as some punters in the UK discovered last month when Mark E. decided to perform his vocals in a side room of a venue while the band gamely played on the stage to a hostile crowd!

This new album has had better reviews generally then they have received in recent years, receiving a 73 on Metacritic. Unfortunately a short US tour which included a festival gig in Louisville and a bunch of small shows in NYC has been postponed this week due to Mark E being admitted to hospital last weekend suffering from an array of throat, mouth and respiratory symptoms.

Don't worry if you can't understand what he's saying in this song, neither can we! But the band, now together longer than most Iterations of The Fall sound tight and focused, brillo in fact!

Resources

The Fall - Official Site