Sub-Lingual Tablet

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

Sub-Lingual Tablet
Studio album by
the Fall
Released11 May 2015 (2015-05-11)
Recorded2014–2015
GenrePost-punk
Length50:52 (CD)
56:04 (vinyl)
LabelCherry Red[1]
ProducerMark E. Smith
The Fall chronology
The Remainderer
(2013)		 Sub-Lingual Tablet
(2015)		 Wise Ol' Man
(2016)

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
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Drowned in Sound7/10[5]
The Guardian[6]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[7]
Louder Than War9/10[8]
musicOMH[9]
Pitchfork6.0/10[10]
PopMatters6/10[11]
Record Collector[12]
The Skinny[13]

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".[6] Chris McCall of The Skinny said that it was "easily the [band's] best [album] since 2007's Reformation Post TLC".[13] 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.[5]

Track listing

CD version
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Venice with the Girls"Mark E. Smith, Dave Spurr, Keiron Melling4:11
2."Black Roof" (listed as "Black Door" on iTunes)Smith, Rob Barbato, Tim Presley1:46
3."Dedication Not Medication"Smith, Spurr4:47
4."First One Today"Smith, Elena Poulou2:45
5."Junger Cloth"Smith, Spurr, Melling4:55
6."Stout Man" (a reworking of "Cock in My Pocket" by Iggy and the Stooges)Iggy Pop, James Williamson3:15
7."Auto Chip 2014-2016" (listed as "Auto Chip 14-15" on iTunes)Smith, Poulou10:03
8."Pledge!"Smith6:32
9."Snazzy"Smith, Poulou2:29
10."Fibre Book Troll" (listed as "Facebook Troll" on iTunes)Smith, Poulou, Spurr5:59
11."Quit iPhone"Smith, Spurr, Melling4:10

Vinyl version
  • The double-vinyl version was released on May 25 and contains alternate versions of several tracks, most notably longer versions of "Dedication Not Medication" and "Fibre Book Troll", and shorter versions of "Auto Chip 2014-2016" and "Pledge!"
Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Venice with the Girls"Smith, Spurr, Melling4:12
2."Black Roof"Smith, Barbato, Presley1:46
3."Dedication Not Medication"Smith, Spurr7:38
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."First One Today"Smith, Poulou2:45
5."Junger Cloth"Smith, Spurr, Melling4:55
6."Stout Man"Pop, Williamson3:17
Side C
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Auto Chip 2014-2016"Smith, Poulou8:21
8."Pledge!"Smith4:56
9."Snazzy"Smith, Poulou2:29
Side D
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Fibre Book Troll"Smith, Poulou, Spurr11:35
11."Quit iPhone"Smith, Spurr, Melling4:10

Personnel

Credits adapted from Sub-Lingual Tablet liner notes.[14]

The Fall
  • Mark E. Smith – vocals, guitar on "First One Today", production
  • Peter Greenway – guitar
  • Elena Poulou – synthesizer, engineering
  • David Spurr – bass guitar
  • Keiron Melling – drums, engineering
  • Daren Garratt – drums, percussion, backing vocals on "Auto Chip 2014-2016"
Additional personnel
  • Rob Barbato – all instruments, recording and mixing on "Black Roof"
  • Tim Presley – all instruments, recording and mixing on "Black Roof"
  • Simon "Ding" Archer – engineering, voice on "Dedication Not Medication" (vinyl version)
  • Mat Arnold – engineering
  • Andy Pearce – mastering
  • Ken Pearson – artwork
  • Charlie Pearson – artwork

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[15] 31

References
  1. "The Quietus - News - The Fall Announce Sub-Lingual Tablet". Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  2. "NME's last ever interview with Mark E. Smith was a rip-roaring rant on class, music, manners and selfie sticks – read it here". NME. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  3. "Sub-Lingual Tablet by The Fall". Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  4. Jeffries, David. "The Fall: Sub-Lingual Tablet". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  5. Bland, Benjamin (19 May 2015). "Album Review: The Fall - Sub-Lingual Tablet". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  6. Hann, Michael (7 May 2015). "The Fall: Sub-Lingual Tablet review – predictable and surprising in almost equal measure". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  7. Scott, Hayley (18 May 2015). "The Fall release their best album for at least, ooh, seven years". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  8. Scott-Bates, Paul (15 May 2015). "The Fall: Sub-Lingual Tablet – album review". Louder Than War. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  9. Shepherd, Sam (25 May 2015). "The Fall: Sub-Lingual Tablet". musicOMH. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  10. Berman, Stuart (8 June 2015). "The Fall: Sub-Lingual Tablet | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  11. Fisher, Devon (22 June 2015). "The Fall: Sub-Lingual Tablet". PopMatters. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  12. Peacock, Tim (20 May 2015). "The Fall: Sub-Lingual Tablet". Record Collector. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  13. McCall, Chris (6 May 2015). "The Fall – Sub-Lingual Tablet". The Skinny. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  14. "The Fall - Sub-Lingual Tablet". Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  15. "Fall | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
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