Secret レコード& CD

Review: We all lost a big one in 2018 with the death of Mark E. Smith. One of the most prolific songwriters of the preceding decades, and the only constant member of The Fall, he channelled humour of the disenfranchised, rage of the people, punk sensibilities and experimental tendencies to create something that genuinely sounded fresh. Amazingly, it still did by the time he bid us farewell. That's some longevity of vitality, and when a band has such a lifespan it's almost impossible to even consider a Best Of type release. White Lightening is as close as you'll get, then, focusing on ten tracks recorded by the outfit, in various iterations, between 1978 and 2001 - amazingly, charting two-thirds of the 40 year story in a way which, while not necessary expansive, really conveys exactly what they were about at different points in that career, and throughout their entire era-spanning run.

Review: UK punk rockers Peter & The Test Tube Babies made an initial splash not only with a ghastly band name, but also with a distinctively gritty sound and jokey lyrics, as exemplified by this live album Keep Britain Untidy. All live takes on the band's originally energetic and humorous punk rock, it cathces in full effect. riding on a wave of their nascent popular inclusion in the "punk pathetique" microgenre. Grumbly vocals and raucous drumkit-guitar-crunch slappages come across fourteen wild live moments.