Imperial Wax Solvent

Imperial Wax Solvent is a studio album by the Fall – the band's 26th – released in the UK on April 28, 2008.

Imperial Wax Solvent
Studio album by
The Fall
ReleasedApril 28th 2008 (UK)
Recorded2007
GenreAlternative rock
Length47:10
LabelCastle (UK)
ProducerGrant Showbiz, Mark E. Smith, Andi Toma, Tim Baxter
The Fall chronology
Reformation Post TLC
(2007)		 Imperial Wax Solvent
(2008)		 Last Night at The Palais
(2010)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
BBCpositive[2]
Drowned in Sound8/10[3]
The Guardian[4]
The Independent[5]
Mojo[6]
Pitchfork7.5/10[7]
Uncut[8]

The album featured a new British-based lineup after the departures of the American musicians who had been recruited to salvage a 2006 tour of the US and subsequently appeared on 2007's Reformation Post TLC. Frontman Mark E. Smith, keyboardist Elena Poulou and bassist Dave Spurr remain from the previous incarnation. They were joined on Imperial by guitarist Pete Greenway (a guest guitarist on the previous album) and drummer Keiron Melling. Spurr, Greenway and Melling would prove to be the band's most stable lineup, enduring for six studio albums until Smith's death in 2018.

It was the first Fall album since 2001's Are You Are Missing Winner to have been turned around in a year. An album a year was always the norm for the group in the past but this practice slipped in the period 2001–2007 (2006 was the first year since the group's inception that saw the emergence of no new material at all, with a cover of The Monks' "Higgledy Piggledy" being the only recorded appearance).

Imperial Wax Solvent was also the first studio album since Are You Are Missing Winner to make prominent use of the low-fi production techniques which were previously one of The Fall's hallmarks: the Groundhogs cover "Strangetown" has noticeable skips, and certain tracks on the album are presented in mono.

The album was well-received by critics, scoring an 81/100 on Metacritic.[9] The album entered the UK pop charts at #35,[10] The Fall's first time on the Top 40 since 1993's The Infotainment Scan reached #9.

The album received some press attention when, due to a pressing error, the music of the album was recorded onto the first shipment of Faryl Smith's debut album Faryl.[11]

Imperial Wax Solvent was reissued on limited edition translucent yellow vinyl for Record Store Day 2019.[12]

Track listing
  1. "Alton Towers" (Mark E. Smith, David Spurr) – 3:29
  2. "Wolf Kidult Man" (Smith, Spurr, Eleni Poulou) – 3:02
  3. "50 Year Old Man" (Smith, Spurr) – 11:36
  4. "I've Been Duped" (Smith) – 2:44
  5. "Strangetown" (T.S. McPhee) – 5:41 (includes elements of "Garden", also written by McPhee and originally performed by The Groundhogs)
  6. "Taurig" (Poulou) – 2:59
  7. "Can Can Summer" (Smith, Spurr, Polou, Keiron Melling, Peter Greenway) – 3:08
  8. "Tommy Shooter" (Smith) – 3:45
  9. "Latch Key Kid" (Smith, Spurr, Poulou) – 3:20
  10. "Is This New" (Smith, Andi Toma) – 2:14
  11. "Senior Twilight Stock Replacer" (Smith, Spurr) – 3:08
  12. "Exploding Chimney" (Smith, Spurr, Melling, Poulou, Greenway) – 2:25

Personnel

The Fall

  • Mark E. Smith - vocals, production
  • Eleni Poulou - keyboards, vocals
  • Peter Greenway - guitar
  • David Spurr - bass guitar
  • Keiron Melling - drums

Additional personnel

References
  1. allmusic review
  2. BBC review
  3. Drowned In Sound review Archived 2008-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
  4. The Guardian review
  5. The Independent review
  6. Mojo review
  7. Pitchfork Media review Archived 2008-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Uncut review
  9. The Fall: Imperial Wax Solvent (2008): Reviews
  10. "UK Pop Music Charts May 5, 2008". Archived from the original on May 10, 2008. Retrieved May 9, 2008.
  11. Thiessen, Brock (2009-03-03). "Universal Mistakenly Presses the Fall Album Instead of Teen Got Talent Winner". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009.
  12. List of official Record Store Day releases revealed
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