270) The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter

Each Fall review for pretty much nearly the last three years has started with me telling you about the who has left between the last album and this one. Guess what? It’s the same, no change, none, Nada, bugger all. Yep, Mark is happy with his lot, what the hell is going on?

On O.F.Y.C. Showcase I have no idea what Mark says but Melling is off on one on the drums and the track build with bass added, then keyboards and Greeway riffs all over it. Smith just shouts Your Future Our Clutter, but he is clear and concise. It stomps along and a great opener. Bury, Pts 1 -3 you would think for the first minute or so The Fall asked me to produce them and I’ve gone in with a tape recorder to do the job before they have realised I’m an idiot and they then tackle it themselves, Melling and Spurr show we have another vintage rhythm section and, guess what, it stomps along.

At one forty Greenway plays a lovely guitar on Mexico Wax Solvent and Mark is direct. He ends with the words I am Invincible; he had performed in  a wheelchair with the line of a broken hip being trotted out but sadly this was the start of his cancer, maybe not invincible but plenty of life in him and The Fall.

Cowboy Geroge we are off at a frenetic pace, some spaghetti western guitar and a bizarre middle section before Mark starts going on about broken bottles and the song goes into drone mode, is it any good, maybe, I think so but Hot Cake is worth it alone for Elena’s “ahhh ahhh hoo” backings.

Y.F.O.C. / Slippy Floor is for me what makes The Fall great, wonderful rhythm and then two minutes in Greenway decides he wants to thrash about and Melling and Spurr decide if you can’t beat him join him and a bit of answerphone to end the track, magical.

Chino is mesmerising swirling and whirling around, Mark asking when do I quit, never Mark, never as you proved right to the end, this is haunting stuff but also top notch.

Funnel of Love is the usual cover, its throwaway but enjoyable we finish on Weather Report 2 which is beautifully restrained but morphs into an electronic dirge for the last three minutes that I could do without.

This is album twenty-eight and it’s a taut exciting thrill and is so much better than we could expect, still life in the old dog yet.

7.5/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Y.F.O.C. / Slippy Floor