Day 96: Relaxing with sugar and tobacco?

Back to basics I'd say, but none the worse for wear.



Song: Latchkey Kid
Album: Imperial Wax Solvent
Year: 2008

This one is a mess, but in a good way, that old MES habit, where he seems to have messed with the very makeup of the song is evident here. Noises invade what appears to be a straight-up Fall barn-burner which is repetitive and bluesy. When the noises, mainly electronic and what I can only guess are vocal tracks degraded and destroyed take over, it takes on a sound collage-esque manner. It's what I imagine a sound installation by Mr Smith would be like, jarring and caustic noise, with no reference points and seemingly no purpose.

I always think that some of the Fall's songs are simply ideas put down on tape with no editing or afterthought, what I'd term 'honest music' as I read in an interview recently, he says people are 'ironing the air', meaning, slaving over every note, every flinch, every perfectly-struck snare. What I think The Fall have done since that technology has become the norm is let the producer have their strict fun with the songs, but then almost de-construct that. On the most recent albums, an air of digital sputum is slowly dribbling down over the perfectly-recorded music, the swathes of fuzz and crackles and the incidental sounds left in are testament to the group's independence, even when dealing with big record labels. This is a great example, a kind of jigaw track, not fully-formed and certainly not commercially viable, it's the way Fall fans like it.

I'd love to see some of the engineers I know trying to explain the latest innovations in music tech to MES, I think he'd listen, but with that knowing smile on his face, occasionally gurning, before walking off without a word.