The Fall - Reformation Post TLC

What do you do when you’re faced with so much hype, controversy and unknown terrain that you feel overwhelmed?

Feeling somewhat like a wee babe thrown into the woods, I’ve been researching The Fall for nearly four weeks now, for hours at a time while at work, and I still feel like I know so little about a band who formed the same year I was born (1976) and who are still actively touring, writing and recording albums.

Until this assignment, I did not have the slightest inkling as to the soundscape of the band. I only know that they have helped to influence some of my favorite artists (Pavement, Sonic Youth, Buck 65) and were, themselves, influenced by The Velvet Underground - a band who I truly grew to admire as a teen, thanks to the gritty flavor of Lou Reed’s poetry and stark musical prose.

Within writing, the best answer is always “go your own way.” Whenever being faced with a tumultuous or “valley” situation, I have always felt that the things which drew me into any such predicament mainly revolved around trying to please too many people. Case in point:

1. Bob Ham - music editor of the BWC site and growing friend who admitted his legion of fanship to The Fall far before asking me to write this review. He is the man who is ultimately responsible for guiding me into this valley.

2. Chris Magarrey - a very knowledgeable man (and teleservice co-worker) within the field of musicology and especially knowledgeable within the realm of post-punk - something I admittedly know less than nothing about. Upon asking him about The Fall and confessing I had never heard of or known anything about them, he was shocked considering the artists and styles of music that frequent my audio systems. When discovering my assignment, one thing he did say, though, was “Research, listen to some old stuff, listen to some new stuff, and draw your own conclusions - it’s all you can do.”

To quickly preface or sum up any kind of band history would be indicative of ignorance (just type The Fall into Wikipedia or Google and you’ll see what I mean) but I will attempt to do so. For decades, Mark E. Smith has shown he is a man who will not fall willingly into any category. After numerous struggles with various record labels, he has always ventured to go his own way, making music only on his own terms. So here we are - it’s 2007 and Reformation Post TLC has come crashing into our atmosphere from a planet far removed from Earth. It clocks in as their 26th studio album but Smith and co. have reportedly toted somewhere close to 49 band members, 78 albums and 41 singles. The Fall, like no other musical ensemble I’ve been introduced to, is a band who is truly in a league of their own. Though their influences can be detected, I can honestly say there isn’t another band I’ve come across who sounds like them. This, however, is both a good and a bad thing in terms of wrapping my mind around them. For me, I could only truly respect myself if I wrote this review with anything less than the utmost honesty…and up the dark side of this mountain, I go.

To all fans of The Fall, who have followed this band loyally and religiously for three decades, I apologize. I find it difficult to be sucked in by “These guys are the masters of such-and-such” hype and with this band, who have influenced SO many of my favorite artists, I really want to walk gingerly but I’m going to do so with a big stick. I’m not currently, and don’t believe I ever will be, a fan or avid listener of The Fall. I understand the respect that Mark E. Smith has, his interesting lyrics, and that his legions of underground fans will never stop loving him, but I have a real hard time listening to fourteen tracks of music which make the instruments involved sound like they were recorded in toilet water. I mean, there’s indie, there’s unique artistry and then there are obvious mistakes and chunky, poor lo-fi sound. True fans of The Fall, however, would say”That adds to the live, raw and unrehearsed appeal of their sound.” Please, dear readers, understand that I’m not wanting to be harsh, here - I’m really just gettin’ warmed up. Stay with me as I take on this mountain and climb my way out of this valley.

I haven’t even grazed the subject of Mark E. Smith’s cacophonic voice. Fall fans and critics alike would say that “Smith’s incomparable voice comes with the territory of The Fall.” Being considerate, I would say it sounds like a buzz saw or a heavily-drugged, angry poet with zero musical inclination, but most of the time, it’s really just an incomprehensible, marble-mouthed mess. Yes - I understand that Smith makes an instrument out of his voice (seen clearly in the song “Fall Sound,” which boasts many throaty Smith screams, obviously relaying The Fall’s incomparable sound stylistics) as he often resorts to purring like a drunk feline, growling or shoving the mic so far down his throat, one would would swear the gurgle of his intestinal tract was audible on this disc. I would perhaps get a little more into The Fall (horrid instrumentation aside) if I could decipher half or even a third of the lyrics that Smith mutters, half-sings or vomits, but that would be a feat far beyond my cranial capacity. Though very prolific, hooked on cunning wordplay and having some incredibly interesting things to say, I just want to be able to clearly see the artistry of The Fall myself without having to rely what other fans and critics tell me about the band or what I’m missing.

All abusive honesty aside, I get The Fall. Smith formed the idea for the band in a time where post-punk saw the formation of a sound that didn’t really fit into any popular category in the UK or any other region of the globe. I understand the notions of art within music, the idea that less is more and that Allen Ginsberg could sit at a piano for hours on end, with a large crowd watching, and not strike a single key to make a point. I know that Smith and his gypsy-esque crew of band members (including his wife) strive for a heavy minimalist sound, often allowing for the reliance on a two-note distorted bass-line to carry a song (“Reformation!”) for six or seven minutes at a time. I respect that. I respect what they stand for and the assemblies of extremely talented musicians they have inspired and influenced. What I do not respect is their music, their sound or the product they are selling.

Reformation Post TLC represents all that I don’t promote within music - far too much slack musicianship that requires FAR too much lofty, intellectual, arty interpretation and deconstruction to be properly consumed. Mark E. Smith doesn’t sound enthralled, enthused or even mildly passionate about anything he sputters out. To top it off, anyone who knows anything about his band knows that Smith is a control freak who is impossible to work with, known for bad-mouthing other artists, his own band members and bands he doesn’t think should be allowed to quote him as an influence (i.e. Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes). So then…please, PLEASE, dear readers, would you dare to venture to answer my question of why I should enjoy or support a band who:
A. is near impossible to audibly understand
B. continually produces albums with sloppy sound quality
C. is fronted by a pretentious and world-renowned jerk?

If anyone can answer those questions for me, maybe I’ll re-think my conclusion. For now, though, it feels nice to be out of the valley. I think I’ll admire this mountain view for a while.

“I think it’s over now/I think it’s ending/I think it’s over now/I think it’s beginning” - “Outro”