With The Fall's 31st long player already scheduled for release next year, 'The Remainderer' is a six track EP that acts as a gap bridger between the next album and this year's fantastic 'Re-Mit'. I didn't really expect anything more than a few rejects and inferior outtakes from the last LP, but 'The Remainderer' defies those expectations in typical Fall style, offering up material easily as strong as anything they've done in years. But what you can and should expect is something unique and completely bonkers.
The fierce lead track that lends the EP its title is classic Fall, as nagging guitars dig into the mighty shuffle and whack of not one, but two drumkits. The superior CD version features what sounds like a gang of Mark E Smiths raving and ranting over each other about becoming a tree, and his views on old groups reforming. Clearly never one for nostalgia, as an artist always focused on the future MES recognises the paradox of such situations: "Never forget, remembrance is worth nothing!" While all Fall lyrics are brilliantly ambiguous, this one seems to suggest that in touring old hits to pay the bills, reformed bands are forgetting the spirit that made them great the first time around. The fact that the music bears a slight resemblance to the Baywatch theme is also rather fantastic and makes you wonder whether the rest of his band were playing a joke on an unsuspecting MES. Or maybe he was aware all along, and maybe even a fan of the show. I'd love to think that at least one of those stories is true. Read my full review of the EP HERE.
Comments
Post a Comment