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Mark E. Smith and his band of troubadours return with another formidable collection of skewed gems. Ladies and gents, it’s this year’s real new Fall album.

Fall Heads Roll by The Fall

The Fall release their first album of new material in two years: Fall Heads Roll. A quietly magnificent follow-up to 2003’s The Real New Fall LP (Formerly Country On The Click), the album has already spawned a double a-side single: I Can Hear The Grass Grow/Clasp Hands.

The last two years since The Real New Fall LP the have been just grand for fans of The Fall. Aside from a handful of magnificent – and occasionally riotous – hometown Christmas shows, for those fans fortunate enough to live near Manchester, they have seen the release of the mammoth Complete Peel Sessions 6CD set, a smattering of great re-issues, been the subject of a BBC4 documentary and even appeared on Jools Hollands' TV show Later. Featuring all of the band’s 24 BBC Radio One John Peel sessions collected together for the first time – the majority of it previously unreleased – this monster release is nothing short of the ultimate Fall anthology to date – beating hands down the numerous Fall compilations on the shelves with the depth and quality of the material speaking for itself. Aside from the Complete Peel Sessions the band’s only new release in that gap period was the EP The Fall Versus 2003.

But what of this year’s real Fall album? We take you track by track through Fall Heads Roll:

1. Ride Away

Classic Fall sounds: stop-start rhythms combined with smooth-sounding (almost cheesy!) moods that could be an organ, or could be a stylophone type instrument...Add snappy backing vocals into the mix and Mark E. Smith’s (M.E.S) typically laid-back, conversational style of vocals and you get this smart little album opener, which finds the Fall sounding like they’re making it up as they go along - as only they can. Ride on!

2. Pacifying Joint

Atmospheres – could be radio or TV sounds, heard briefly from another room – quickly bust into a pacier, gloves-off rhythm that may be more akin to the sounds of side 2 (in old money) of 1990’s Extricate album than anything else the group has recorded since then. Here M.E.S sings away to and with himself on backing vocals, alternately joining in with and then overlapping a driving rhythm that you just know will sound great live on stage. Listening to this conjures up a sound picture of a (slightly crumpled) Smith hollering ‘pacifying joint’ over and over again with glee...

3. What About Us?

Track three finds The Fall in rare (recognisable) topical commentary mode – with this song’s overt reference to the Shipman Enquiry, following the still recent murderous events in Hyde, Greater Manchester. “I was unhappy” croons M.E.S as the band sound as tight as ever they have. So timeless is this particular Fall sound that – subject matter apart – this could easily be a track from I Am Curious Oranj (1988) performed by that line-up, despite being (Smith aside) a totally different band. Needs to be the next single – easily stands up against anything from the band’s Beggars Banquet a-sides collection 458489 A Sides (1990). And that really is saying something.

4. Midnight In Aspen

Both Midnight In Aspen and track six Aspen Reprise drifts in by way of a gentle interlude – with the band once more managing to sound like a totally different act. This skilfully careers between light and shade as the band show off their musical versatility. As if they actually had something to prove. Makes a fabulous contrast and reprise (as we’re sure it was designed to) to the track it tops and tails. Namely...

5. Assume

More echoing off-air TV sounds fade away into Radiophonic grot – cut into by M.E.S singing ‘No destruction’ – accompanied by another bit of groovy repeated riffage from the band – alternately following Smiths voice, then crashes against it. Lyrics are as obscure as ever – although The Beatles’ Hey Jude gets a name check in the mix.

6. Aspen Reprise

See above.

7. Blindness

Here M.E.S reprises/recycles his own words – from Extricate, intoning the mantra-like lyric ‘Do you work hard?’ several times as the band find their rhythm and stick to it, Smith does his thing (as only he can) – and sounds like he’s having a free-form association ball – whether it’s all meticulously planned or not...

8. I Can Hear The Grass Grow

Barking vocals over a thundering, driven punk rhythm section as The Fall – a band surely at it’s most good humoured when covering the finest moments of others’ back catalogues - return to cover territory. And let’s face it - what greater tribute could there be to The Move (who originally recorded the tune) than to have their best known track given the full-on Fall treatment? See the band play this live and you’ll get to witness what many no Fall fans might think was an impossibility: a whole Fall audience beaming from ear to ear. Best cover version by the band since they revisited Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich’s 1969 The Legend of Xanadu for the NMEs Ruby Trax compilation in 1992. ‘B’ side to the seven inch single release of Clasp Hands.

9. Bo Dimmick

Uses the rhythm section part from Elvis doing His Latest Flame. Just when you think you’re getting another cover version the band crank it up. ‘I was mystified’ yells M.E.S, who once again seems like a band leader/vocalist having a ball.

10. Ya Wanner

Starts out like an Iggy Pop record! M.E.S mutters ‘A work in progress’ as the band storm up a garage full of racket that sounds improvised on the spot. Very live sounding – like a rehearsal take. ‘I’ve never felt like this with anyone else’ hollers Mr. Smith. Startlingly good stuff.

11. Clasp Hands

Clasp Hands finds The Fall in a rockabilly mood – first class track that has previously shown up on a Peel session and in live shows – and as one of the many highlight on this years Peel sessions boxed set, albeit in a different version. More quiet talk on the track adds mood and atmosphere.

12. Early Days Of Channel Fuehrer

Gentler rhythms – another cracking, quiet, tune, this time featuring subtle brushes and a lonely kick-drum with lyrics that find M.E.S in reflective mode as he sings ‘The snow is all around…’

13. Breaking The Rules

Highly energised, fast rhythms and choppy guitars... ‘Same old story’ croons M.E.S. Marvellous stuff.

14. Trust In Me

M.E.S (seemingly) takes a back seat as other band member’s step up to the mic. Groovy track that has the feel of a 21st century take on all those classic ITC – style TV themes. If this was played out as an instrumental – and The Fall was a television spy series, rather than a band, this would make its perfect theme tune…

Before you’re half way through listening to this long-player you’ll have realised (if you’ve taken more than a passing interest in the band’s previous output) that you may just be listening to the finest Fall album in years. That’s not to denigrate the albums between then and now – there’s been plenty of cracking records, as you’d expect – but Fall Heads Roll seems to fine not only Smith himself in the finest of forms, but also his band too. This is a Fall group with plenty to smile about: they’ve got one of the most muscular and stable line-ups in years; are having fun on stage and – as evidenced here – in the studio too and are equipped with a front-man who’s evidently bustling with as many ideas as ever.

Following a spectacular sell-out hometown show at Manchester University’s Academy 2 the played a series of dates across the UK in October.

Fall Heads Roll is arguably the best Fall album since 1990’s (pretty phenomenal, mind) long-player Extricate and easily a contender for album of 2005 – despite its late appearance. Still our nation's saving grace? Could be...

Fall Heads Roll is out now - on CD, but also as a limited edition vinyl LP – both on the Slogan label. For more information on the band, click here or visit the Official Fall Website by following this link.

Photocredit (all pictures): Kevin Cummins

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