Currently the most recent Fall CD I own (the aim is, of course, to get them all), this is a recent Ebay purchase.
This is the sole outing of "The American Fall", recorded in 2006 during and following a US tour where "events" left Smith, and wife Eleni Poulou as the only remaining group members and they rapidly engaged local musicians on bass, guitar and drums.
It was later added to by Dave Spurr and Pete Greenway, who remained in the final line up for another decade until Smith's death. This is the US disc, which seems to omit The Usher from the UK release.
It opens promisingly, Over Over and Reformation have that trademark driving bass with some interesting guitar work for Smith to rant on top of. Fall Sound follows the same structure, but to my ears, less engagingly and that's followed by an insipid cover of Merle Haggard's White Line Fever.
Insult and My Door Is Never are fine - no more than MES spoken word over average backing, while Coach And Horses is uninteresting but mercifully brief. Things start to get more interesting on The Wright Stuff, synth heavy and with Eleni's deadpan delivery, although it perhaps goes on a bit longer than necessary. Scenario flies by, not bad, not remarkable leading into the tem minute epic (!) Das Boot. Opening with fuzzy bass and overlaid guitar, then a low, repetitive synth noise, and it's four and a half minutes before MES intone "Das Boot" and Eleni leads a squeaky chorus of "Hee, hee, hee, hee" for the remaining six. Strange stuff indeed, but disturbingly compelling listening. The Bad Stuff is little more than a muddled growl, but the final track, Systematic Abuse is far more Fall - a rocking bass and keyboard theme with Smith on vocal form, flying by much quicker than its eight minutes would suggest.
It's definitely a Fall album, with all its highs and lows, despite the lack of recognisable personnel, challenging the lie that the final few years of the band had little to offer. probably not much here would grace a single CD 'Best of The Fall', but there's enough that's worth a listen.
3* - it may be 21st century Fall, but there's plenty to enjoy (and avoid!) here.
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