[Amber]

Oh routemaster, this is really good and a day early as well.

[Greasy Roads]

Oh routemaster, this is really good and a day early as well.

Wouldn't it be ironic if he posted another tomorrow so two came along at once?

[routemaster]

Thank you Amber, it's a bit early as I'm working long hours all weekend.

Fuck you Greasy Roads, though that irony could quite easily occur.

[Jim Skidder]

I'm working long hours all weekend.

[routemaster]

I'm working long hours all weekend.

[routemaster]

2012


Eleni acts quickly as MES makes a sudden lunge at Hanley Went To Every Gig's bald head, Islington 2012.


So following a slightly disappointing year, did Mark make the traditional mass sacking that so often used to go with such a scene? Well no, he didn't. This it seemed was a Fall gruppe growing in staying power and stability. There was a slight change as Pete had been allowed paternity leave late in 2011, Tim Presley returning to cover guitars, otherwise business as usual.

It was I suppose always to be a quiet year, EGB wasn't out till November of the previous year and Fall albums weren't quite an annual occurrence anymore. And so one solitary 7" single saw the light of day, and this a limited 1000 copies through the annual Record Store Day extravaganza. RSD was a ploy where certain independent record shops got landed a pile of mostly re-issued vinyl often with one extra track or a snazzy coloured plastic, and they would sell it on this special day at hugely inflated prices. So a 7" would go for £8, a 12" single for £15 and an LP for £25, that sort of thing. The vinyl-phobes lapped it all up, and would dutifully flog these rarities on Ebay for double the cost. Our gift was sub-titled 'Night Of The Humerons' and consisted of a live 'Taking Off' on the flip, with the brand new studio track 'Victrola Time' as the lead song. VT had been played live for ages as 'Damflictors'. And so The Fall once again maintained the record of at least one studio track a year, but only just. Thankfully, while weird, it was strangely wonderful. Full on synth and bass lead, Mark would come in after a lengthy intro with an unholy shriek not heard since 'Mother Sister' or 'Craigness', but not quite so piercing. It did render the opening lines unfathomable though. There on was an angry rant about the long term effects of too much MDMA, AKA ecstasy, AKA 3,4-Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine - "The post MDMA years" as he spits out venomously. Guitar lines are few, and low in the mix, and I suspect Tim was playing here, he was after all credited on the sleeve. Then again so was Pete, though either could have contributed to the a or b side, so really we just don't know.

Anyway that was this year's song, so has to be my choice, and like I said it was a good 'un.

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I forgot to mention the formula for 3,4-Methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine is C11H15NO2 which looks not unlike 'CHINO'... anyone?

[routemaster]

2013




Following the quiet year, things pepped up in 2013, so much as we were offered a single, an album and an EP. I will therefore try not to ramble as it's a lot to get through. Line up wise, a slight change late in 2012 with Tim Presley covering for Pete's paternity leave meant he got credits on a couple of the album tracks that must have written late that year or early this. Pete was soon back, but there was another addition I shall deal with later.

We can ignore the single 'Sir William Wray' (plus 'Hittite Man' and 'Jetplane') , another RSD release, as all three tracks appeared on the album in identical form despite the words "single mix" on the sleeve. And so to 'Re-Mit', the new album released in May. MES produced this one with Ding and Grant roped in for engineering duties. It opens oddly with some filler, an intro called 'No Respects (Intro)'. In just over one minute, it covers a jaunty 'Is This New' style guitar, adding a tasty bit of synth over the top, before descending to a more lumpy beat that builds to a louder and faster close. On to track two then, 'Sir William Wray' was a great tune with guitar and synth battling to provide the best riff while struggling to keep up with each other in pace. Mark's opening shouts of "G-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-Gish! Gish! Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-Waaaaaaa!" suggest as usual it's daft trying to decipher lyrics. Despite the performance though, there's concern as the production sounds as tinny and flat as most of EGB was. Surely not another album like that? Happily track three disperses these fears, 'Kinder Of Spine' is as mad as a box of frogs, but production quality is restored. It's a take on the old Monks sound, and they do a very good job of it, Mark again appearing to have lost it with his vocals. 'Noise' is next, and it's very peculiar which is good of course. It's filler really, Mark having a pop at the ever suffering Pete over the noise he makes with his guitar as that guitar plucks menacingly in the background along with some squiffy synth. "Here he is now..." Mark suddenly losing the abuse as Pete ups his guitar noise, so turns to namechecking Dave the warrior of the forest and Emporer Cunliffe in a darker more ghostly voice. An interesting diversion. 'Hittite Man' follows, a slow brooding one along the lines of 'Monocard'. Despite some undeniably great musicianship, it never quite does it for me, I don't know why because Dave's bass is back to it's most thunderous and Pete offers up some more of his traditional wah wah guitars. There is however an alternative mix that maybe should have been on the single. The mix is more open, yet darker still and includes an eerie backing vocal from Eleni. It's a shame this version never saw the official light of day. 'Pre MDMA Years' next is another minute long filler, but it fits in well. A lo-fi noodle featuring lines from 'Victrola Time' set to random synth noises. And back to 'No Respects (Rev)' whatever "Rev" means. Basically this is the same as the intro but stretched out to five minutes. The sweeping synths are of great merit, the rest just average, though not to say bad. Whitby gets a mention as does "English Schweinhund" which amuses. We can miss 'Victrola Time' as it's been done before, so next is 'Irish'. Flickeringhexagon of this forum once suggested the guitar was too high in the mix, but he spoke from his Californian arse I'm afraid. Both guitar and bass get a good hammering, and while Eleni nips out for a smoke leaving Mark to sneak in an unfortunate line "They show their bollocks when they eat", it's all in all good clean fun. Track ten is 'Jetplane', the third from the single (RSD buyers would by now be sorry they'd forked out eight quid for that 7"), definitely Eleni penned listening to the words despite credits to the contrary, it tells of an idea as to how to speed up airport queues. Indeed Eleni herself features quite highly in the backing vox. Some good guitar riffs interject as we go along which increase in volume towards the end, and Keiron deploys an unusual military beat throughout. A nice alternative to regular stuff. 'Jam Song' is most unusual, but another highlight (the b-side of this LP seems a step up from the a-side). It certainly is just as the title suggests as all members pile in with an abrasive wall of sound that shouldn't compliment each other, but somehow do. One of those ideas that only The Fall could carry off. And finally here, 'Loadstones' is another loud upfront song, this time criticised once I recall by our Slushy who said the synths were too loud. He spoke from his furry backside of course. It's short and sweet, but a solid end to a pretty good album.

But there was more! By November a new recruit was on board. Daren Garratt, ex of The Nightingales, was added on second drums. Double drumming had not been heard since Karl Burns and Funky Si were together on Levitate, so this was something of excitement. The following month, an EP 'The Remainderer' was out, including Daren but typically Fall, failing to credit him. It opened with the title track, and the drum effect is noticed almost from the outset. The beat(s) are magnificent, bass, guitar and swirling synth add to the glorious mess as Mark gurgles and growls his way through - "You're scumbags!". The vinyl has a different version, with the gruppe members adding some backing vox. Both are essential, but this is annoying for buyers who don't have a turntable - the vinyl mix was on a promo CD which was going for over £100 on Ebay at one point. 'Amorator!' next up is fast paced, again all instruments finely played and produced. Pete does a fair bit of wah wah and Dave too is on form, hell they all are, this is becoming much more interesting than Re-Mit which itself was a big improvement over it's predecessor. Track three is 'Mister Rode'. Where the fuck do I begin with this? OK, ignore the vinyl mix, it's lesser but still great. A fuzzy distant guitar builds in volume before a crashing of double drums and then full on guitar kick in. The beat is like Big Country in style, remember Stuart Adamson dancing around on one foot on TOTP? That sort of thing, but do not let that distract, it's fantastic. Then Mark arrives, "I've got a name, I gotta say..", loud and confident and the whole thing swaggers along for quite a lot of minutes. Deep in the mix lie delicate synth lines that remind you of the early days when Una and Yvonne tinkled the ivories, and a ghostly Mark backing vocal echoes his own words, this really is amazing. But then it stops - "It's taking off!". The beat ends briefly as a swirl of synth and more ghostly vox rumble along, before the gruppe all come crashing back in with a wall of that new found "noise" they've recently discovered that builds to the very end. This song is fucking astounding. 'Rememberance R' can't hope to follow that, but in it's own way has a bloody good try. MES and a gentle bass and drum set the scene, a rant against look back bores I think. The bass is another almost 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' cover. It builds before a scratchy guitar joins in , reminding me of some of Craig Scanlon's work, then curiously Ding takes over vocals in a rant against bands who try and recreate their youth. It's another fine if moody song. I'll pass on the last two tracks however, an attempted ode to Gene Vincent via a partial performance of 'Say Mama' segued into that live 'Race With The Devil' The Fall did for Peel's 50th birthday. Hanley, Scanlon, Schofield, Bramah and Wolstencroft did not get a credit here. And 'Touchy Pad' to these ears was unnecessary filler that could not hope to compete with the first four tracks. Perfection would be a four tracker here - The Remainderer, Amorator!, Rememberance R, Mister Rode in that order.

My favourite? Have a bleeding guess.

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The Fall were once again becoming very interesting indeed....

...and my apologies for rambling.

[Amber]

I've been trying to get on the site all day to read this. It's wonderful again routemaster.

[routemaster]

I've been trying to get on the site all day to read this. It's wonderful again routemaster.

Thank you Amber, I thought I'd broken the forum trying to post this one, glad you got to read it.

[Sonofsmegma]

Oh routemaster, this is really good and a day early as well.

Wouldn't it be ironic if he posted another tomorrow so two came along at once?

Actually, I've got a theory as to why Greasy Roads hates bus drivers so much.

Dad took me out in his car today. We were behind a bus for a while. Now, BMW drivers drive like arseholes for the most part. Some bus drivers do too, granted. But on the whole it's

BMW drivers = fast, reckless
Bus drivers = slow, sometimes inconsiderate, but simply slower.

And that's it. Greasy Roads' hatred of bus drivers might be largely simply because they *get in his way*.

[routemaster]

BMW drivers drive like arseholes

THIS is the most sensible thing you have ever written on this forum.

It'll probably be the last sensible thing you write of course...

[Sonofsmegma]

BMW drivers drive like arseholes

THIS is the most sensible thing you have ever written on this forum.

It'll probably be the last sensible thing you write of course...

and I'd be quite happy if this ^^^ was the last post you ever write.

[routemaster]

BMW drivers drive like arseholes

THIS is the most sensible thing you have ever written on this forum.

It'll probably be the last sensible thing you write of course...

and I'd be quite happy if this ^^^ was the last post you ever write.

Sadly for you it's not, there are four more years to write about.

[Sonofsmegma]

I meant your post at 7:21

Not your 40 years of the Fall post, which was reasonably spot on.

[Greasy Roads]

Oh routemaster, this is really good and a day early as well.

Wouldn't it be ironic if he posted another tomorrow so two came along at once?

Actually, I've got a theory as to why Greasy Roads hates bus drivers so much.

Dad took me out in his car today. We were behind a bus for a while. Now, BMW drivers drive like arseholes for the most part. Some bus drivers do too, granted. But on the whole it's

BMW drivers = fast, reckless
Bus drivers = slow, sometimes inconsiderate, but simply slower.

And that's it. Greasy Roads' hatred of bus drivers might be largely simply because they *get in his way*.

With 335bhp on tap bus drivers never get in my way. Light the afterburners and the cunts are history.

[Right Said Fred]

Oh routemaster, this is really good and a day early as well.

Wouldn't it be ironic if he posted another tomorrow so two came along at once?

Actually, I've got a theory as to why Greasy Roads hates bus drivers so much.

Dad took me out in his car today. We were behind a bus for a while. Now, BMW drivers drive like arseholes for the most part. Some bus drivers do too, granted. But on the whole it's

BMW drivers = fast, reckless
Bus drivers = slow, sometimes inconsiderate, but simply slower.

And that's it. Greasy Roads' hatred of bus drivers might be largely simply because they *get in his way*.

With 335bhp on tap bus drivers never get in my way. Light the afterburners and the cunts are history.

I have experienced this, you fucking psycho.

[routemaster]

Anuvver year rooind.

It's not even up on the Twitter feed, has that crashed too?

[Amber]

Anuvver year rooind.

It's not even up on the Twitter feed, has that crashed too?

Don't worry routemaster, I'm sure it'll be sorted later.

[Connor]

Anuvver year rooind.

It's not even up on the Twitter feed, has that crashed too?

Don't worry routemaster, I'm sure it'll be sorted later.

It is now. It was forgotten with all the technical problems yesterday.

[routemaster]

2014


"Fuck it, let the beard grow."


On Saturday 30th August 2014, I finally got to see my first (and final as it happened) Fall gig in York. Before the show as I had to nip back to the car for something and approaching me on the road were a group of about six people. I noticed the chap at the front of the group was the spitting image of Pete Greenway, then realised it was him and the rest of The Fall as well. I spotted MES, our eyes met, we nodded politely.... and I bottled saying hello. As they took to the stage later, we were miffed to see Eleni was not present, though I had seen her outside earlier. The suspicion was she is allergic to paint fumes and the venue had just been painted. It was a loud performance, curious in that the first four songs were unknown new ones. It was a great night, MES only leaving stage for the last three songs.



The above shows that this was another transitional year, and so once again only a couple of studio tracks emerged, from the mostly live collection 'Live Uurop VIII-XII Places In Sun & Winter, Son'. Line up wise, Daren was now a fully integrated member much to everyone's pleasure, otherwise no change again. The first studio track was entitled 'Auto (2014) Chip Replace'. It opens with Mark ranting over an ever-building repetitive groove, once at full speed it's away. There are two Marks here each growling and grumbling at each other as the gruppe do their thing until 3m 30s when it grinds to a halt. Following a long drone, Eleni's keys produce a loud splurge and we're off again with one of those mental finales akin to the one on 'Mister Rode'. On first listen I was left thinking this is the way forward. The other track is an alternative 'Amorator!' from last years EP. It's a good alternative, Eleni injects some early vocals and following a brief bit of Pete's guitar riff, the backing is turned down in favour of an almost ambient sound with each member adding random snatches of sounds to the mix. Mark himself sounds a bit angrier than the original. Annoyingly though, it fades out at just over three minutes and you're left wondering what you've missed.

Both these songs were clearly demos of some sort, one issued here post release, the other....well we just don't know. 'Auto (2014) Chip Replace' is the one I'm choosing, it has to be the new song I think, plus it's bloody great.

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As many live shows progressed this year, we were treated to several new songs and fantastic performances that became almost over-familiar before release, a strange marketing ploy I had not witnessed before? I recall most fans were begging for a new LP by the end of the year.


Edit: Fuck it, that image mid-post has been trouble all night.