The late Mark E Smith (in)famously declared that “if it’s me and yer granny on bongos, it’s The Fall” – a typically pugnacious justification of the revolving door policy on membership of the cult Mancunian legends.
Fall fans will have their own favourite line-up over the years – a Fantasy Fall League, if you will – but the veterans who now serve as the cheekily monikered HOUSE Of ALL would certainly feature on many a list of classic players.
Frontman and guitarist Martin Bramah was in with the bricks and was initially The Fall’s singer before he and Smith swapped places and he took over guitar duties for debut album Live at the Witch Trials. Bramah didn’t last long in the band, unlike bassist Steve Hanley, who joins his brother Paul plus drummer Simon Wolstoncroft and, beaming in from another Fall era, their final guitarist Pete Greenway to complete this new not-quite-tribute act.
Inevitably, HOUSE Of ALL’s self-titled debut album of originals taps into some of that off-kilter Fall spirit but adds a flavour of Bramah’s other band The Blue Orchids. Bramah declaims rather than sings, the rhythm section are relentless and the humour is droll though the results are not quite as raw and garagey as their parent band.
They add some dub shudder to opening track Aynebite, a touch of melancholy on But Wilful I Am but go for the jugular with one chord wonder Dominus Ruinea – a Fall title if ever there was one – and the relentless dread rumble of Harlequin Duke with its impish “bingomaster” reference and “sacre bleu” exclamation.
Whether affectionate tribute or attempt to reclaim their part in a legacy, HOUSE Of ALL are brazen in their homage – the pugnacious and inexorable There’s More even ends on a knowing cackle.
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