Picked up for a couple of quid on EBay last week, I've only just got round to listening to this latest Fall addition to the shelves.
And we find the mighty Fall in transition (as if that's anything unusual). Brix has gone, Martin Bramah's returned but the Hanley / Scanlon engine room is still intact.
Opening with the thumping Sing! Harpy (which MES denied was about Brix), which plods along a bit, things liven up on I'm Frank, Scanlon's guitar riff driving the song and then there's the poignant Bill Is Dead, Smith almost crooning his way through one of the album highlights.
The version of The Monks' I Hate You, here entitled Black Monk Theme, is another plodder, but one which is strangely catchy - unlike Popcorn Double Feature, an uninspired cover of an uninspired Searchers song, followed by the similarly lacklustre Arms Control Poseur. There's a reprise of the Black Monk Theme, taking us to the wonderfully bonkers Telephone Thing. This is followed by the jaunty and engaging Hilary, and the more measured (with a fantastic bass line) Chicago, Now!
But there's not much else to get excited about in the final four tracks. The skiffly And Therein... sets the feet tapping, and there's some decent guitar on the title track, but the album seems to end with a whimper.
Once again, this isn't classic Fall, which is a pity, as the return of Martin Bramah to the fold promised much. But there's still enough to enjoy, and at least a couple which might make a 'Best Of' set (if it ran to 6 CDs!).
Fun fact - this is the only Fall album which features three members of legacy band House of All.
3* - even at their more disappointing moments, there's something to enjoy from The Fall
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