New Fall Album On The Way...

[hedgehog90]

Yeah, sort of stating the obvious isn't it? Probably doesn't deserve a thread.
But anyway, Cherry Red announced a week ago that they will be releasing their 30th studio album this year.

http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopnews.asp?newsid=362

What did everybody think about Ersatz GB?
All I saw was the very unfavourable Pitchfork review, which was around the same time I decided Pitchfork were shit.

Praising YFOC one year and hating Ersatz GB the next is like applauding a tramp for his funny walk and then later chastising him when you realise shit's dripping down his leg.

Ersatz GB was alright.

[Don_Preston]

I enjoyed the Ersatz. Granted it was a bit lacklustre compared to YFOC, one of my favourite ever Fall LPs, but it was my favourite album of last year - as it was my only purchase of an album from last year!

Very excited.

[Paaaaul]

I hated Ersatz. Worst Fall album EVAH.
But they've not yet released two stinkers in a row so I'm excited!

[hedgehog90]

I've just been listening to Imperial Wax Solvent. Probly my favourite Fall album of recent years. Look at me and my opinions.

[Neville Chamberlain]

Whenever anyone asks me what my fvaourite recent Fall album is, I always say it's The Infortainment Scan - but then I remember that's 20 years old!!!

I've been keeping up to date with Fall stuff from this millennium only very sporadically.

[G.C.]

Ersatz was great, if only for the first few seconds of 'Greenway'.

I always love the Fall when they sound a little fractious and badly thought out. It's a good balance to more 'polished' stuff like Clutter.

30 albums has an anniversary feel about it. Therefore, I predict they will deliver a disaster.

[hedgehog90]

I'm currently luisetning to Ersatz GB again.
I will always marvel at the wonderful lyrics, "I'm so sick of Snow Patrol, and where to find their soul lubricant  and mobile number" whatever the fuck they mean.

Ersatz was great, if only for the first few seconds of 'Greenway'.

Yes the beginning is great, but it's hard to get past the wanking off the cat business. Never has a lyric stopped me in my tracks so suddenly.

[Egyptian Feast]

Ahh great, I was wondering when this was coming. Is this the same band as the last three albums? Surely that's some kind of record.

I initially found Ersatz GB a huge disappointment after the previous two albums, both of which were incredible, but it grew on me like a nasty fungal infection. It'll never be one of my favourites, but there's still plenty of great stuff on there. I'm hoping this new one blows it out of the water though.

[hedgehog90]

I'm listening to Happi Song right now. It just struck me how awful Mark E Smith's growls and inane gurgling are in the background.

Elenor - "Hey Mark, I've just recorded a pleasant little ditty that I'm calling Happy Song"

[Mark E Smith sits down and listens to the song]

MES - "...Yeah, but it's missing something, let me see what I can do. Also, while we're at it, let's replace the 'y' with an 'i' in happy so people know I've fucked around with it a bit."

[Egyptian Feast]

I'm listening to Happi Song right now. It just struck me how awful Mark E Smith's growls and inane gurgling are in the background.

I respectfully disagree. The awful growls and inane gurgling are the icing on the cake. I especially love his first 'contribution':

"Raindrops...."   
"blehblehblehblehblehblehblehblehblehblehblehblehblehblehbleh"
"..on the highway"

[The Always Red Society]

Yeah, sort of stating the obvious isn't it? Probably doesn't deserve a thread.
But anyway, Cherry Red announced a week ago that they will be releasing their 30th studio album this year.

http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopnews.asp?newsid=362

What did everybody think about Ersatz GB?
All I saw was the very unfavourable Pitchfork review, which was around the same time I decided Pitchfork were shit.

Praising YFOC one year and hating Ersatz GB the next is like applauding a tramp for his funny walk and then later chastising him when you realise shit's dripping down his leg.

Ersatz GB was alright.

I don't wish to defend Pitchfork but quite apart from the reviews probably being by different authors, Ersatz GB for me is a very poor cousin to YFOC or Imperial Wax Solvent. I enjoy The Fall unpolished but it just didn't have the energy or spark of the preceding two.

They were on excellent form in December though.

[Mark Steels Stockbroker]

What did everybody think about Ersatz GB?

Patchy as fuck. Actually came across as a compilation of leftovers that had accumulated for 20 years and was being released because he couldn't be arsed to get a proper album together. And this was after YFOC easily sitting in the top 5 Fall albums of all time.

In summary: "Taking Off" could have been something discarded from Infotainment, but it was one of the better tracks; the lyrics on Nate were unironically, unacceptably shite; there were THREE naff metal tunes (one alone would have been forgivable as a joke, 3 just looks like that's what the band really prefer); none of the other stuff made much impression though the final track could have been good if it had looped around for about 20 minutes or something.

[Mark Steels Stockbroker]

I hated Ersatz. Worst Fall album EVAH.

I think Interim gets that prize.

[Paaaaul]

I think Interim gets that prize.

I love Interim.
Even if you hate the production, the songs are miles better than those on Ersatz. I treat it as a bonus disc and on that level it's at least as good as the best official deluxe edition bonus discs.

[hedgehog90]

While we're at it, what does everyone think of Are You Are Missing Winner?
I think it is for most Fall fans their most disappointing followup (The Unutterable preceded it)
I personally found much to love about AYAMW. Ibis-Afro Man gets a lot of plays on my iTunes.

You really get the impression that they just shat it out in an afternoon, and then in their charming ways decided to fuck it all up afterwards. But in a good way.

Yeah, it just didn't work when MES decided to gargle vomit in the background to Elenor's song though. It seemed like he was needlessly intruding.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Yeah, it just didn't work when MES decided to gargle vomit in the background to Elenor's song though. It seemed like he was needlessly intruding.

I think the song would have been much improved if he'd replaced the gurgling with impersonations of Deputy Dawg, Hilda Baker and Kojak.

[hedgehog90]

The new Fall album is called 'Re-Mit', and it's expected to drop some time in April.

Just read it in someone else's Q magazine, which dedicates an entire 3 pages to a shite Q&A (questions sent in by Q readers) with Mr Smith.

The last question got a great response though:

Are there any Fall songs that you're not so fond of or don't enjoy playing live?

Yeah, the last album actually [Ersatz GB], I don't like any of them. You've got to be honest for the fans, man. I would say five songs on the last record were bad, but I will make it up. With the new album? Yeah. Re-Mit is going to terrify people. It's quite horrible. The Fall have had enough and we're coming for you.

Don't quite know what to make of the last bit, but it seems like he genuinely didn't rate Ersatz GB...

[hedgehog90]

Here's the Q&A btw:

http://www.visi.com/fall/news/pics/2013-04_q-p32.jpg
http://www.visi.com/fall/news/pics/2013-04_q-p34.jpg
http://www.visi.com/fall/news/pics/2013-04_q-p33.jpg

[Don_Preston]

£25 for a printed question? Andrew Harrison must be rolling in it.

The new album title is pretty poor. But still, I can't bloody wait two months for this.

[The Roofdog]

I don't think they played a single thing off Ersatz when I saw them in December, which is unheard of for them to ignore the most recent record. They were playing plenty off YFOC. And the new songs sound awesome.

Interim isn't an album is it, it's a random collection of live bits and rehearsals

[Unoriginal]

Ersatz was shite so it's good that MES agrees. You have to assume the new 'un will be an improvement.

[Mark Steels Stockbroker]

Don't quite know what to make of the last bit, but it seems like he genuinely didn't rate Ersatz GB...

He often does that though. He said The Unutterable was shite because it was "too arty" and that was why AYAMW stripped the sound down. Of course he'd sacked the band that recorded it in a dispute over royalties.

Albums MES has slagged off:
1. Live At Witch Trials (too much influence from the other band members, trying to be too conventional)
2. Perverted By Language (not recorded as well as it could be, due to Rough Trade skimping on the budget to fund The Smiths).
3. Bend Sinister (didn't like the production, had a row with Leckie which is why they didn't work together again).
4. Country On The Click (didn't like the way it turned out, so insisted on redoing it as The Real New Fall LP).

Also, if you look at this old article, you can see a link to an interview with the Levitate-era band.

PSF: Another long-time trademark of the band is working with tapes and studio effects. How does that come into the songs?

That's usually Mark's input into the music. If you have a straight tune, he'll throw something in that throws it right off.


PSF: Do you think it's an important part of the music?

It can be. It depends how far out it is. Sometimes it can just be thrown in there for the sake of it. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But I don't think albums should be perfect. You don't want to do a perfect album because then you've got nowhere to go. There are bands that do that with their first album. Our albums are like a diary of the band at the time. You can really tell if you look back, when the band's going through a bad time, the album's not so good. When you feel that the band's going through a good time, it's going to be better.


PSF: Any particular albums in mind when you say that?

Middle Class Revolt is pretty bad and Cerebral Caustic isn't as good as it could have been and Room To Live too. For good ones, there's The Infotainment Scan and Hex Enduction Hour. With Infotainment Scan, there's a definite sound of the band at the time and all the songs are strong. I mean, they've all got their good points but they are a reflection of the band at the time. It depends on the people in the band at the time and what they're coming up with. That's the thing about the Fall- it's not manufactured, what you see is what you get. Which is good.


PSF: The band choses some interesting cover songs too.

It's all Mark. He picks the covers. I don't know WHERE he gets them from. When you first hear them, you think 'God, why did he pick that? Where'd he get that from now?' "I'm A Mummy" came out good. I'm not too sure about "Jungle Rock" as we had a bit of difficulty with that. We were really trying to do a jungle version of that and it really didn't come off. Didn't quite get it I don't think but we had a go.


PSF: Because the band has a long history, is that a burden?

It is. Especially in England, we get pigeon-holed into this alternative type and we've got a cult following and people think 'they're that type of band' so we find it hard to get on daytime radio. People think that that's the Fall and they've got a set idea about it. Sometimes you hear things in the chart, selling millions and they just sound like the Fall.

[Mark Steels Stockbroker]

I don't think they played a single thing off Ersatz when I saw them in December, which is unheard of for them to ignore the most recent record.

I think Shiftwork and Middle Class Revolt songs rapidly disappeared from the setlist, as soon as a new album was available, but I don't know about them forgetting an album before a further release. In the early years (pre 1984) you could see sets featuring at least a third new material, with a rapid rate of abandonment of older stuff. In the 1982 Australia tour they had hassle with people wanting "Totally Wired" and they'd already stopped doing it.

Of course that sort of rapid cycling is normal in bands with regular line-up changes. I saw a Tim Gane interview where he said in the first 4 years or so of Stereolab the personnel were changing so often it was easier to write new songs and abandon the old, rather than rehearse the old ones again. Mind you, at that point his writing method consisted of just pinching riffs and ideas off old krautrock albums and getting the band to jam them in the studio.

[Garam]

Ersatz was one of their/his 5 worst, but no Fall album is entirely without merit. Laptop Dog is great. I like Monocard as well. I think with any really prolific artist, they need to get some crap every now and again to cycle back round to inspiration. They don't seem to have any quality control, every sketch and idea they've ever had seems to be public. I like that approach.

Anyway...can we agree that Hex Enduction Hour is the fucking greatest album of all time? MES's one of my favourite artists ever, in any medium. He has his heavy inspirations - Lovecraft, Beefheart, Can, M. R. James, but his world is still his own. I remember reading a review by an American where he said it sounded to him like 'a Britain where Germany won the war.' I like that description.

He has his lesser work, but I still find something to be squeezed out of it, no matter what. He's been veering wildly between crap and good since the beginning, god bless him. I hope he doesn't have a heart attack any time soon, though it's long overdue with his lifestyle.

[Mark Steels Stockbroker]

I'm not that bothered about Hex, actually. I don't hate it but it has too much the feeling of being overcooked, the songs were played too long, and I think he realised that which is why he went straight in to doing Room To Live. I don't really like "Hip Priest", and "Jawbone", "Winter" and "Mere Pseud" are played better on some live tapes, even though the album was recorded as-live. I actually prefer PBL for its dense claustrophobia.

My top 10 (at this moment; subject to rapid fluctuation):

1. The Infotainment Scan
2. The Light User Syndrome
3. Grotesque
4. Your Future Our Clutter
5. Bend Sinister
6. Dragnet
7. The Frenz Experiment
8. This Nation's Saving Grace
9. The Unutterable
10. Cerebral Caustic

[The Roofdog]

Interesting, the only 2 Fall albums I don't own bookend that list (The Infotainment Scan & Cerebral Caustic)!

[the psyche intangible]

There's a record store day single with another shit cover.
http://www.stormingthebase.com/the-fall-sir-william-wray-7-vinyl/

[Garam]

That looks like a mid-80s Fall single cover. I like it.

My self-indulgent top 10. Early stuff's my favourite, easy.

1 - Hex Enduction Hour
2 - Grotesque (After the Gramme)
3 - This Nation's Saving Grace
4 - Dragnet
5 - Perverted by Language
6 - Slates
7 - Room to Live (Undilutable Slang Truth!)
8 - Imperial Wax Solvent
9 - The Frenz Experiment
10 - Live at the Witch Trials


I like loads of individual songs from the 90s, but none of the albums work as a whole for me. I did only get into them around 2007, so that might be a factor - no personal memories of the 90s stuff getting released. I've tried again and again with Infotainment, but I just can't get much from it. Can't even remember any of the song titles. Aside from 'Life Just Bounces', I find Cerebral Caustic unlistenable. That's why it's great they release everything they do. Every fan has their own canon. Wish he'd do another Von Sudenfed album.

[The Roofdog]

The Marshall Suite/The Unutterable is one of the strongest pairs of consecutive records they've ever put out for my money.

[Egyptian Feast]

That's why it's great they release everything they do. Every fan has their own canon.

This is why I love The Fall. Everybody's top 10 is different. Their most acclaimed albums have their detractors, and their lesser albums have their champions.

I can't rank them in order of preference, but today, my 10 favourite albums would be:

Live At The Witch Trials
Dragnet
Grotesque (After The Gramme)
Slates
Hex Enduction Hour
The Infotainment Scan
The Unutterable
The Real New Fall LP
Imperial Wax Solvent
Your Future Our Clutter

Not a particularly iconoclastic list, but there you go. Bubbling under would be the Brix albums and The Marshall Suite.