The Fall

Believe it or not, this is the sound of the Fall going "mainstream," with "My New House" and the oddly lovely "Paintwork" earning college and alt rock FM airplay. Mark E. Smith's incomprehensible diatribes/intellectual symposium lectures continue unabated, and Brix Smith actually controls the chaos without ruining the bands' trademark "squall of sound."

If the sentimental fallacy of good American rock and roll is roots, the sentimental fallacy of good British rock and roll is amateurism. Not that these veterans distinguished themselves from themselves before Yank guitarist Brix E. Smith righted husband Mark E.'s feckless avant-gardishness. Still, what they've arrived at now is cunningly sloppy, minimally catchy Hawkwind/Stooges with each three-chord drone long enough to make an avant-gardish statement but stopping short of actual boredom. And yeah, it beats roots by me. (Grade - B+)