One thing that always remained the norm was the output of Mark E Smith and The Fall.
However this 32nd 10 inch double vinyl album, titled New Facts Emerge, is testing, very testing, the chaotic nature of Smith`s backing bands have been as much an appeal as his writing style since the late 70`s, this current band however form a pretty tight but standard background to which Smiths lyrics seem misplaced.
Avoiding the opener Segue where Smith spends 30 seconds hitting pint glasses with a stick , swiftly on to Fol de Rol .. which sounds on first hearing a bit like On a Rope by Rocket from the Crypt with Smith ramblings, its good but not what I wanted after track 1.
The superbly titled Victoria Train Station Massacre is back to basics, but again at 1.14, its far too short and the strange effects do nothing for it, should have been left alone, things improve with the title track New Facts Emerge.
Couples v Jobless Mid 30`s is a crazed metal sweep, with 3 parts over 9 minutes, its tough going, some rest bite in Second House Now with its rockabilly stance but again it goes off somewhere where maybe it doesn’t need too with machine gun and sound effects.
Gibbus Gibson thank heavens gives us the classic Fall guitar loose line we all love, simple effective, but again it just isnt quite right, the closing track Nine Out Of Ten gives us understandable lyrics, yes you heard me, probably my favourite track.
I love The Fall, and it pains me to say this album isn’t very good, but with such an incredible back catalogue and no sign of Mark E Smith giving it all up, I hope this is a small dark patch and that a New Fall Emerges in the near future.
Tracklist:
Segue
Fol De Rol
Brillo De Facto
Victoria Train Station Massacre
New Facts Emerge
Couples Vs Jobless Mid 30s
Second House Now
O! ZZTRRK Man
Gibbus Gibson
Groundsboy
