The Fall

Your Future, Our Clutter
Domino

Okay here's what I like. I like Fall vocalist/leader Mark E Smith because he triumphantly proclaims that he's gotten rid of all of the “old saddoes” that used to frequent Fall gigs in favor of a younger audience. I like Mark E. Smith because he recently heckled and threw beer bottles at Mumford & Sons. I like Mark E Smith because there's a story that he caught some (soon to be ex-) bandmates dancing in a club to the Clash's “Rock The Casbah” and slapped each and every one of them. I like Mark E Smith because he lives by a dictum that creative application of tension fuels creativity, and as much as that might frustrate audiences and hapless musicians, horrified at the sight of amps unplugged, mics knocked over, keyboard settings erased mid-song, in that particular momen, the fact is that his methods have yielded the desired dividends. For instance, the Infotainment Scam (1993) is every bit as good Hex Induction Hour (1982), and the Fall’s non-system continues to yield dividends on “Your Future, Our Clutter.” Leading a band or relative newcomers (save the steadying presence of wife Elena on keyboards), Smith presides over disjointed rockabilly, alien funk, and razor bursts of minimalist motorik-punk. Every track is wholly other, and thoroughly enjoyable. “You don’t deserve rock n’ roll,” Smith slurs at the very end. He might be right.

- Matthew Moyer