There are certain artists whose sound carries on long after they're gone, the mold set and left to future artists to revel in and expound upon. I think one could certainly make that claim for legendary post-punk band The Fall, though with them, it's a little different since they were never gone. Releasing over 30 albums from 1979 to 2017, and that's to say nothing of the slew of live records, compilations, EPs, etc., the band introduced a sound, perfected it, abandoned it for something different, perfected it again, revised, renewed, and perfected again ad nauseam. But through all those different iterations, lineups, sounds, and experiments, the one constant was front man Mark E. Smith's dry and atonal delivery, an instantly recognizable style of talk/sing that was unique to Smith before inspiring dozens of artists afterward. Sadly, Smith passed away this morning at the age of 60, but his legacy will certainly live on. You can hear him across the decades, from classic 90's Pavement songs (Malkmus lovingly aped on Smith for years) to the music coming from newer bands like Ought and Parquet Courts. But man, he's going to leave a hole, and there will never be another like him. So, listen to something by The Fall today. Maybe start with their first song that i really got into, "I Feel Voxish" from 1983's "Perverted by Language." Give it a listen below.
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