The Fall - Hex Enduction Hour

It is not appreciated (enough); Salford’s finest’s finest-ah!

Even if it’s a fool’s errand trying to decide which is the greatest LP out of The Fall’s huge back catalogue of albums, many fanatics of the group will tell you that the worst thing you can say about Hex is that it’s their equal best at the very least. It’s certainly Mark E Smith at the height of his lyrical powers, with a complex and funny narrative tale of a poacher whose rifle misfires, chipping off a piece off a tomb, which puts a curse on part of a rabbit skull (Jawbone & The Air-Rifle) and the scabrous The Classical.

The real power, however, lies in the nothing-to-lose-delivery. The Fall had already been going for six years when this came out on heavy metal label Kamera, and it was going to be their last album. It’s an hour-long attempt to break the group’s bad luck with failing to get anywhere. Some of it was recorded on a fruitful trip to Iceland – including the self-aggrandizing Hip Priest, which was captured in an ancient lava cave. In typically obtuse fashion, other tracks were recorded in an empty cinema in Hitchin. A taut, twitchy and ominous masterclass in DIY post-punk.

5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars 5 stars

Sanctuary | CMQDD 1059 (2-CD)

Reviewed by John Doran
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