The Fall – Extricate

Extricate, the first post-Brix Smith album, is marked by a far more melodic approach than your usual Fall joint.

It's also loaded up with keyboards, nods to techno, and, in an unexpected but welcome twist, Kenny Brady's textural violin playing. "Sing! Harpy" is as caustic and deadpan as anything in the Fall canon, riding a spare, brutal groove as Brady's scraping strings fills in the gaps.

It seems as though his divorce is fresh on Smith's mind. "You know I why I hate you, baby?/ Because you make me hate you, baby," he sing-speaks on "Black Monk Theme Pt. 1", one of the band's many nods to 60s proto-punks the Monks.

This immediately follows the sarcastic fake power ballad "Bill Is Dead", on which Smith sings, "this is the greatest time of my life," over and over while organs swell behind him. It's hardly perfect, and "Bill Is Dead" wears thin once the novelty wears off, but Extricate is a more integral Fall album than it's often given credit for.

Tracklist:
First Half - Subjective, As Usual
Sing! Harpy
I'm Frank
Bill Is Dead
Black Monk Theme Part 1
Popcorn Double Feature
Second Half - Objective, Unusual
Telephone Thing
Hilary
Chicago, Now!
The Littlest Rebel
And Therein...