The Fall - Ersatz G.B

Its been a while since The Fall have released a really bad LP. Their previous effort 'Your Future, Our Clutter' had the thump of Domino behind it and as a result was reviewed kindly almost everywhere despite not being quite the return to form everyone had hoped for. Even though it had its low points, tracks like 'Bury' showed that The Fall still had it in spades when needed. As expected they are now not on Domino and instead on a label that presumably won't question Mark E Smiths erratic decision making and quality control .....and boy does it show.  It starts off in reasonable fashion with 'Cosmos 7' which despite truly dreadful production at least has a solid back beat and plenty of Smith's vitriol to carry it through, he doubles up his vocals to good effect and the band sound pretty tight. The first warning signs start to appear early one with worryingly riffy guitars which become more prominent on  'Nate will not Return'. There's a '70's rock element to it but despite Smith's best efforts its over long and dare I say it boring. But nothing can prepare you for 'Greenway' which basically is Smith being backed by Anthrax. Similarly 'Monocard' does precisely nothing apart from churn over the most forgettable sub Sabbath riff before Smith emerges out of his stupor half way through to attempt to sort the bloody thing out. Finally on track 8 'Laptop Dog' you get something recalling the super double whammy 'Real New Fall LP'/'Fall Heads Roll'.  Closer 'Age of Chang' is a healthy blast of Stooges like rock but overall I'm really not convinced by this Kerrang meets The Fall schtic. The album is muddy, lacking in inspiration or focus musically and lyrically and displays little of the vitality you'd expect expect from The Fall.  Still, history has proven that you can never write Smith off, it may make complete sense after a few listens, the next one could be brilliant, the live shows may be life affirming (I bloody well hope so having shelled out £20 a ticket) but to be at his best Smith needs a foil -a Brix, Bramah, Riley or Scanlon to write the songs and argue back.  You could say that after sacking so many vital members Smith is left with a handful of yes men (and lady) and the group is all the poorer for it.