210) The Fall - The Unutterable

Not for the first time when it looked all over Mr Smith had managed to bring it back round after the pretty excellent Marshall Suite.

Who’s in and who’s out you are asking? Here’s the shocking news, it’s the same line up but also, we have Grant Showbiz back in the production chair for the first time in nearly a decade.

Fifteen songs and nearly an hour long is pushing it, but bands were filling CDs with material at this time but for once they managed to avoid a cover version.

If we start well we usually know we are in for a good album, on Cyber Insekt I thought Mark was shouting “Fuck off Phil” but it’s actually “Book of film” no matter over a wonderful shuffling beat and with vocals from Showbiz’s wife Kazuko Hohki The Fall have brought us back into their world. 

The Fall hit the guitar, bass & drums hard on the chorus of Two Librans and Mark is on good form, an excellent thrash along and W.B is a nice laid-back tune with enough beats and synths to keep you interested. The band again rock out on Sons of Temperance and after a minute it reminds me of Happy Mondays Kinky Afro before returning to a thumping beat.

I have long accepted that you either love The Fall or not, so when I tell you that Dr Buck’s Letter is magnificent you will either nod or think shut up about this bloody band, but it is. Read the lyrics if you can.

Hot Runes is enjoyable rockabilly and Octo Realm/Ketamine Sun is just talking nonsense for nearly two minutes, but Ketamine Sun is atmospheric, and Smith seems in reflective mood.

This has been a quality Fall album but must lose points for the title track and Pumpkin Soup that I will not rush to hear again but I enjoy the mad run through of Hands Up Billy with Neville Wilding on lead vocals and Julia Nagle’s up-front synths.

The album peters out with the final few tracks that really were not needed.

A strong record then showing that sticking with the same band can lead to a bit of consistency, you know what he is going to do don’t you?

8/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Dr Buck’s Letter