Sub-Lingual Tablet Explained

Sub-Lingual Tablet
Type:studio
Artist:the Fall
Cover:Sub-Lingual_Tablet.jpg
Recorded:2014–2015
Genre:Post-punk
Length:50:52 (CD)
56:04 (vinyl)
Label:Cherry Red[1]
Producer:Mark E. Smith
Prev Title:The Remainderer
Prev Year:2013
Next Title:Wise Ol' Man
Next Year:2016

Sub-Lingual Tablet is the 30th and penultimate studio album by English band The Fall, released in May 2015 by Cherry Red Records.

The album was originally going to be named Dedication Not Medication, but, according to Mark E. Smith, "it looked a bit like a Barclays advert".[2] Sub-Lingual Tablet marks the first appearance of second drummer Daren Garratt as a full-time member (he previously guested on The Remainderer, uncredited). Meanwhile, "Black Roof" doesn't feature the regular Fall lineup at all; instead, the bulk of it was recorded by former members Rob Barbato and Tim Presley in the United States, with Smith adding the vocals later.

Two of the album's tracks were already released in 2014 in different versions – "Fibre Book Troll" on Modeselektor's Modeselektion Vol. 03 compilation and "Auto Chip 2014-2016" (as "Auto (2014) Chip Replace") on part-live, part-studio album Live: Uurop VIII-XII Places In Sun & Winter, Son.

Reception

Michael Hann of The Guardian gave the album three stars out of five, calling it "predictable and surprising in almost equal measure"; he criticised the album for having "its share of Fall-by-numbers" but also described "Auto Chip 2014-2016" as "magnificent". Chris McCall of The Skinny said that it was "easily the [band's] best [album] since 2007's Reformation Post TLC". Drowned in Sound reviewer Benjamin Bland said that while the album contained "a series of tracks that could fit into almost any period in the band's catalogue", it included "enough genuinely high quality Fall material" to be of interest to old and new fans alike.

Track listing

Vinyl version

Personnel

Credits adapted from Sub-Lingual Tablet liner notes.[3]

The Fall
Additional personnel

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Quietus - News - The Fall Announce Sub-Lingual Tablet. 19 September 2016.
  2. Web site: NME’s last ever interview with Mark E. Smith was a rip-roaring rant on class, music, manners and selfie sticks – read it here. 25 January 2018. NME. 10 October 2018.
  3. Web site: The Fall - Sub-Lingual Tablet. 19 September 2016.