Search - Fall :: Your Future Our Clutter

Makes No Bloody Sense

Akiva | Port Frenzy, Togo | 05/04/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How in the hell does he keep doing it? The guy's pushing 60 and writes music with more rebellion and vigor than people a third his age. Same with Wire with the Read & Burn series. Those guys are still putting out music that'll slice your head clean off your shoulders.



So, right, here it is then: the latest Fall record and it's just unreasonably good. Best they've released since Country On the Click by far and may be the best since the 80s. It's an expertly balanced marriage of what makes The Fall The Fall with a funky and dare I type [near] radio-friendly sensibility? All of the usual aspects of The Fall are present: Smith's riot-ready rants stumbling aggressively over an undercarriage of dissonance. But there's also a sense of fun that isn't always discernable; gone is Imperial Wax Solvent's sense of impending doom replaced by some music that's almost ... danceable? The opening drum rhythm of the record dares anyone to sit still. And the record just gets better and better from there. They touch on epic post-rock with Bury, Pts 1 & 3, put up some Western motorik with Cowboy George that disintegrates into some krautrock-style goodness at the end, and then they pretty much turn your spine into dust with Y.O.F.C. / Slippy Floor. And how do they end the record? With one of the most dark and intense industrial workouts you could expect to hear outside of Coil or Nine Inch Nails.



It's too early to say yet but this could be my favorite record of 2010. It's definitely one of my top five Fall records of all time. Whether you've never listened to The Fall before or you've been there since the Witch Trials, Your Future Our Clutter should be heard. Preferably at near lethal volume."

Wow, this really caught me off guard

Xyloplax | New York | 05/16/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So while the last Fall album, Imperial Wax Solvent, (as many albums since The Unutterable) had some high points, but seemed to have a bit of ADD and had some parts that were painful for me to listen to, I find this album to be downright addictive. This is also one of the more accessible Fall albums in years, while still maintaining the odd weirdness that pervades everything they do. The Fall seems to usually have a "buzz" on their tracks, something atonal, dissonant, out of place, out of tune, out of context that either completes the song or makes you squirm in your seat (sometimes it's if Mark trying to actually sing). This album goes a mostly electronic route for that buzz effect, with chirps, squeaks, growls, and all sorts of sounds non-characterizable all over the place. As always, there is not quite anything that sounds like this album out there, yet this one, like all Fall albums, borrows from all sorts of bands and styles. You just can't slap a label on it.



The thing that stands out most on this album are the dual punch of bass and drums. Strong, bold, powerful, hitting you in the chest all the time. Really good with bass-boosting headphones. Elena's keyboards are fantastic, providing the central theme on several songs, or providing the all-important buzz on the tracks. Some really beautiful riffs in this (such as in the end of Mexico Wax Solvent); she gets better with each album. The guitar seems different on this album, at times almost violently aggressive and driving, other tracks nearly invisible, but really the important tie-in, weaving everything together. Mark's vocals are the best in years. Few of the wince-inducing moments where he tries to sing (sorry, I have my limits), and lyrically, some of the best vignettes and impressions in a truly long time.



Tracks, in no particular order:

OFYC Showcase - Really hard driving stuff, with a great use of minimal keyboards.

Bury Pts 1+3 - The low-fi intro is great, and worth sticking around for the meaty "part 3" (the "part 1" is too long for most non-fans, probably, and just right for Fall fans). Good, driving track again.

Mexico Wax Solvent - The best track on the album in my opinion. Best lyrics, best music, really an ideal Fall track.

Cowboy George - Nice galloping feel. Wonder if the lyrics refer to a certain recent political figure. My least favorite track.

Chino - Plodding, dragging, and intentionally so. Great mood it induces.

Hot Cake - Great keyboard sound effects, killer thick guitar riffs. I love the Elena "ah ah ah ooooooooo" vocals. Best lyric on the album: "My dialogue is stuck."

YFOC/Slippy Floor - 3 songs in one. Completely different, each of them.

Funnel of Love - The Fall really really makes great covers of songs from the 50's and 60's.

Weather Report 2 - Starts off as almost a ballad with MES singing and it really does not work for me, but absolutely listen to the whole thing because the second part is one of the most amazing electric/electronic-noise-as-music compositions I have ever heard. No, Mr. Smith, we do not deserve Rock and Roll, as you prove over and over again.



This is one of my favorite Fall albums of all time, and so far, the best thing I have heard in several years. Fall fans will likely love it, and newbies hopefully will as well, though the hardest thing with The Fall is that it all depends on the first track you hear from them. It either takes you right in or drives you away.



Who is this Chino person/persons/concept/ideal anyway?"

At Least Best Art Rock Band So Far

Bart Connelly | Marlborough, MA United States | 06/20/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Though debatable that The Fall is the best rock band of all time (but definitely in the top ten), I can't see how anyone could argue against MES and his revolving band fellows being the best art rock band by a long shot.



The volume of material is only the first reason (but other artists have been as prolific or close too it). MOre importantly is the Fall may have had some records that were thin here and there but never faded out like some bands do. Mark E Smith may have lost numerous lineups for many reasons but here he is again.



So for this latest offering we get the FallSound staples: one or two mediocre rock tunes (Mexico Wax Solvent), one cover of and obscure song done fairly straight, then three or four very good crazy rock tunes with repetitive but likeable riffs (Bury Pts eg which is reminds me of X from the LA days) and then as always some way out mind altering piece like the closer here: weather report.



Most art rock bands (Genesis, Wire, Radiohead, The Beatles) often veer to close to being arty farty (esp Wire in their mid to late years...The Beatles were just a conglomerate that was slowly splitting up but great while they still converged a little). Their is no doubt from listening to this disc that the Fall is a Rock Band but one with enough eccentricies to get the art rock stamp.



(btw: my overall assessment of this disc...it is typical of any Fall disc...if you like the formula you will not be disappointed...maybe not the very best (Light User Syndrome, BEnd Sinister) but certainly realiably good and not as thin as wax solvent or Infotainment Scam).



But like everything else MES/theFall bust out of the pigeonhole. They aren't arty so much as just weird/odd/creative and with keeping to rock's basic principals of being loose but angry/wound up. This isn't art rock like Captain Beefheart or Faust but more like Can...a jamming band that is just ready to mess with your heads.



These are all good bands but MES abilit to keep putting out reliable messed up material cannot be overlooked as worthy of much credit.



It all comes down to the Man whose Mind Expanded . A much earlier Fall song with notes to it about a fellow who despite the drudgery of day to day existence is able to transend all that and escape.



MES expansive mind altering world is not like a usual peaceful new age budha enlightenment (no offense to Buddhas). Instead its a nasty sloppy hairball coughed out of some cat that takes on a life of its own and stands regal and in disgust with the drudgery of the day to day nonsense.



Get the feeling I am rambling here. Anyways. A couple of mediocre tracks (4, 6, 8) but otherwise some usual good FAllSounds (recommend 2 and 9)."