ARTiST: The Fall
TiTLE: Reformation Post TLC
LABEL: Sanctuary
GENRE: Indie
TiME: 61:26 min
SiZE: 71,4 MB
BiTRATE: VBRkbps
RiP DATE: Feb-07-2007
RELEASE DATE: Feb-12-2007
WEBSiTE:
Track List:
01. Over Over 04:05
02. Reformation 06:59
03. Fall Sound 03:54
04. White Line Fever 03:00
05. Insult Song 05:41
06. My Door Is Never 03:40
07. Coach And Horses 01:49
08. Usher 01:18
09. Wright Stuff 05:48
10. Scenario 03:25
11. Das Boat 10:07
12. The Bad Stuff 02:25
13. Systematic Abuse 08:39
14. Outro 00:36
Release Notes:
What is there left to say about The Fall? Thirty
years of beer sodden bark and growl, twenty five
albums of empirical belletrism, over thirty line-ups
and a countless host of imitators and acolytes from
Sonic Youth to Pavement and beyond. That people
still care is testament to Mark E Smith's singular
brilliance. His distrust of groups such as Franz
Ferdinand and Bloc Party and his abhorrence of bands
that reform and play old songs in deference to the
audience does not indicate any bitterness on his
part, quite the opposite. It renders him more vital,
a lodestar of heretical artistry; no label can hold
him and no band will outlast him. Neither bought for
gold, nor to the devil sold.
'Reformation - Post TLC', like the previous album
'Heads Will Roll', is sinewy and unalloyed. There
are moments, granted fleeting ones, that sound like
nothing on any previous Fall album but the rest is
pure Salford Smith; rhythmic, snarling and funny.
The constant shift in personnel, far from being the
whim of a despotic drunkard, is the secret behind
The Fall's continuous vitality; the musicians are
playing for their lives because they don't know how
long they will last, there is no comfort zone and
not even his wife is safe.
The most extraordinary track on 'Reformation' is
'Das Boat' - ten and a half minutes of fuzzed up
atmospherics, dissonant feedback, wordless,
rhythmical vocalisations and Smith intoning 'Das
Boat' over the squelch of the electronics and the
clack of the sticks. The title track is about bands
that get back together because they need the money,
Smith standing on top of a high rise overlooking
Manchester, vexed and venting. Is he shouting
'cheesesteak' or 'two states'? The latter being one
of Pavement's more obvious Fall tributes from
'Slanted and Enchanted'. "It's about all those
Manchester idiots, in groups, they're all
reforming". Smith recently told Mojo. "It's obvious
why they do it, isn't it? Cos' they're broke. And
suddenly they're your mates. And y'know, the
Manchester scene never liked the Fall." Revenge is a
dish best served old.
'Fall Sound' is exactly that. Rumbling bass, big
beat drums and clanging guitars. "Fall Sound!" yells
Smith, "It's much too late". The studio chatter at
the start of 'The Bad Stuff' gives way to a classic
Fall riff which turns into a rockabilly stamp, bits
of sampled speech mix it up with spiked guitars.
There's a loving cover of Merle Haggard's 'White
Line Fever' complete with authentic Yankee backing
singers, their euphony in direct contrast to Smith's
off key rendition. At the end an American voice can
be heard saying "Let's do it again dude" amidst much
laughter, somebody yells 'Cheeeesesteak' and Smith
growls 'Fall Motel', 'Reformation' still very much
on their minds and then the band fall into 'Insult
Song' an irrepressible groove with a storyline that
references Captain Beefheart, continues the white
line fever thread and is funny as fuck. He even
cracks himself up.
Aside from Smith, The Fall have no past and with
their future ever uncertain, we can safely assume
that they exist only in the here and now. I was
listening to John Peel, many years ago. He played a
new Fall track, sighed deeply and contentedly and
said "The Fall; Always different, always the same".
As usual, he nailed it. The Fall are the best new
band in Britain.