The Fall

Highlighted by the zonked-out beatnik-ness of the title cut and a brilliant Kinks cover. Throw in the gorgeously pointless "Steak Place" and more memorable riffs and Mark E. Smith-isms than they'd delivered in a couple years, and The Frenz Experiment is one of the Fall's many, many essential albums.

If Brix is so busy leading Mark into the valley of the shadow of sellout, how'd she let him get away with an album of vamps with recitation? Lyrics center around a title catchphrase--"Get a Hotel," "The Steak Place," and "Oswald Defence Lawyer" are the cutest--and allude to crime. Vamps are mostly--shame on you, Brix--catchy. (Grade - B+)