The Fall Album: “Hex Enduction Hour”

Perhaps one of the best examples of punk ever created, and yet this album really goes far beyond the genre. Even though it was recorded in the early 80's this collection of songs sounds like it was done yesterday. The song writing here is poetry, and the track "Winter" paints some wonderful pictures. One of my favorites "The Classical" which has a raw energy that few bands have captured before or since. Also featured is "Hip Priest" which has become a trademark for Mark E. Smith, who deserves a bit more credit. You can hear the roots of this album in so many places today - ranging from hip hop to industrial. You will never see the Fall mentioned in those silly VH1 specials, but rest assured this record belongs next to the best of all time.

One of my favorite Fall records. This one is highly focused throughout, and the chemistry between the instruments is uncanny and highly effective, especially on songs like Hip Priest and Fortress/Deer Park. No one but the Fall could make sense out of songs like that.

Highly recommended!

This is quite possibly The Fall's best album. It is not for the faint of heart. The Fall's m.o. is summed up in a line from one of their early singles: "Repetition, repetition, repetition." The Fall eschew melodies in favor of crude riffs played ad nauseam. Mark E. Smith doesn't sing; he declaims. If you like punk rock, this album is a must-have for its energy, intelligence, and abrasiveness. One astounding song follows another. Smith struggles to be heard above the din of the band, which, incidentally, is in top form. "Deer Park" and "And This Day" are among the band's most bracingly obnoxious songs ever. "Winter" sounds downright lyrical in comparison. Every song here is a gem. Scabrous, contrarian, intransigent, and unmistakable, The Fall sound like a force of nature here. Anyone who delights in noisy rebellion will love this album.

One of the band's most important releases, this has a more experimental aspect than the previous SLATES ep. Songs like the 2-part "Winter," "Hip Priest," and "Iceland/Island" are rhythmic and long in a kind of Can way (Mark was a big fan) while "Deer Park" has keyboards via the Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray." This is not to say the songs are inferior. On the contrary, the songs are excellent because they still sound original and like The Fall . The two-drummer lineup works very well on the opener "The Classical," and there is some really catchy material in "Just Step Sideways" and "Who Makes the Nazis?" Problems? Yeah, a 10+ minute problem in the final song, the atrocious "And This Day." Everything else is great, and it beats the hell out of most of this "indie-rock" the kids like these days.

The Fall are one of those bands that have never been imitated, no matter how many comparisons other bands garner to The Fall are made. Really, Pavement ripping off The Fall? Please! That's about as annoying as saying that early Spoon ripped off the Pixies. In fact, The Fall are like the Pixies in that everybody's been influenced by them, but nobody's ever copied them. Why? Because only The Fall can be The Fall, and Hex Enduction Hour is ample proof. Never before or since on record has such tightly controlled chaos been produced. The guitars and percussion are all over the place, but they never threaten to fall apart. The whole record is one loud racket of dissonance and strange danceability with Mark E. Smith ranting about whatever has his pants in a bundle. It's an arctyple post-punk record, one that delivers everything anyone ever wanted out of the genre. Really, can you argue against "Just Step S'ways," "The Classical," "Jawbone And The Air-Rifle," and "Fortress/Deer Park"? What about the irony of "Hip Priest" where Smith rants against what will probably become most of The Fall's fanbase? Oh, you need this, and it makes a perfect starting point in The Fall's off-putting discography.