Systematic abuse

The Fall - Reformation Post-TLC

Domino Jones disse quase tudo o que há para dizer acerca de Reformation Post TLC, o regresso dos Fall, na Playlouder. De resto, o que tenho lido é sempre positivo, e o texto abaixo ficaria completamente fechado se fosse dito, como se disse/escreveu frequentemente acerca dos 5 ou 6 mais recentes discos, que este é o melhor album dos Fall em muitos anos; again (and again and again and again...)

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.