Search - Fall :: Extricate

The reasoning behind my love of The Fall:

everywordmeans | Ohio | 05/13/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm unsure of the reasons why I love this album, but I simply do!

It's not a great album by fan standards, but it was my introduction to the group, and like an infection I have not been able to overcome. It spawned the single "Telephone Thing", but beyond that, it's just great to listen to as a whole because it has an undeniable charm that is solely the property of Mark E. Smith and The Fall. No one sounds like them, and thier uniqueness is strange and poetic, at times snotty and un-danceable. The music and attitude contains everything any recent post-rock group would envy, only it was done before post-rock was even THOUGHT of.

The Fall is a group that paved the way, and were before thier time.

Not a common taste, but surely a memorable one.

I suggest if you're out there hedging, you should take a chance and let this cd seep under your skin. It may take awhile for the group to woo you, but once they do, you'll never look at music the same way again.

"

Ehh...

Michael T. Burrus | Chapel Hill, NC | 08/13/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I love the Fall. I have all their studio albums, some live stuff, some peel sessions and both single compilations. Since my expectations for them are so high, keep in mind that's a high 3 (in other words, it's better than just "okay"), but it's still pretty mild and uninteresting compared to most other Fall records. It's definatly the most wussily produced Fall album ever. The drums are horribly tinny, the keyboards sound cool in the dancey songs like "Telephone Thing" and the title track but others suffer from too much padding or stupid cheesy presets. The "Black Monk Theme"s are pretty uneventful, as is "I'm Frank". But those songs aside, most of the actual melodies are great. It's the actual songwriting is a little lazy at parts and like I said, the production makes them sound like a bunch of sissies. There's some interesting stuff on here though, like "Bill is Dead", a truly beautiful pop song with a melody that's usually wistful for the Fall. One of the most emotional-sounding things they've ever done actually. "Sing! Harpy" is pretty awesome too; it's got some neat sounding violins that go very well in the mix. "And Therin" is probably my favorite though. "Popcorn Double Feature" is a great Searchers cover, but the other covers on here don't do a thing for me. If you're already a big fan, don't let this scare you away. It's probably the least interesting Fall album, but it's not the worst! It's mildly pleasing, but inconsistent...still good though!"