300) The Fall - Sub Lingual Tablet

Almost two years after Re-Mit The Fall return. There has been a well-received EP The Remainderer released in between and no member has left, five in a row now, but we are back to two drummers with Daren Garratt added and we have Rob Barbato and Tim Presley returning for the track Black Roof with bizarre spaced out keyboard and a lumbering beat before the space like keyboards return, bizarre and brilliant all at once.

The record opens with Venice with the Girls a straight down the line rocker with Mark not shouting, grunting just delivering a straight tight vocal. Dedication Not Medication (seemingly nearly the album title before Mark changed his mind) swoops in with formidable bass, distinct drums.

First One Today is all over the place but when Greenway kicks in with his riff at the two-minute mark you will be glad to be alive and is this madness really planned, of course it is.

Junger Cloth highlights what a great band Mark has assembled behind him as for the first two minutes almost tribal drums, heavy bass, and imaginative keyboards swamp over us before he comes in and again is largely coherent.

Stout Man is The Stooges Cock in My Pocket an aggressive stomp along with Mark hard on the vocals, hardly essential.

Auto Chip is ten minutes of joy, we have talked at length of the people in this band who have played bass and drums well Spurr and Melling have earned their right to be up there with them all and Garratt is no slouch. However, Greenway is on fire here, Mark sings “how bad are English musicians” as the band make a mockery of this statement.

Snazzy seems to be just getting going before fading out and Fibre Book Troll the band lock in as they had done on Auto Chip, it’s not as good but Mark screams out “I want a f***ing Facebook troll,” I can’t help but smile, although not too sure about the whistling.

We go out on Quit Iphone with Eleni backing vocal the best part for me as the band drive us to the end.

So unknown to us all this is The Fall’s penultimate record. As with all later releases it has its moments, Auto Chip, and moments of just why, Pledge. However still they hold my, and many others, interest, its almost as if that awkward bugger Mr Smith knew exactly what he was doing.

7/10

GIVE IT A STREAM: Auto Chip