This Nation’s Saving Grace

No. Bad. Dislike.

Dette var kjedelige greier. Alle låter høres mer eller mindre like ut. En time av livet jeg ikke får tilbake.

Ikke noe stort det her. Hver sang høres ut som har satt de samme 4 sekundene i loop. Når vokalen i tillegg er irriterende blir resulatet dårlig suppe!

Now this year is right in my wheelhouse. My love for the fall has grown immensely over the past decade or so. Repetitive earmworm riffs, commitment to the aesthetic, and the absolutely iconic MES.

Mark E. Smith was famously difficult and contrarian and his music shows it. This is one of The Fall's most accessible album with a good post-punk vibe and Smith doing his own thing, as is typical.

Kind of not too bad. I like the bass riffs

Live at Witch Trials is one of my very few (as of now) 1-star albums, so I was pleasantly surprised with this one

Was looking forward to this but was disappointed

Definitely had some tasty grooves. Well, hopefully revisit this later

Couldn’t get into it.

This is one of the more accessible albums from The Fall, and heavily influenced by Brix Smith. It is still an acquired taste though, and I can see why it polarises opinion. I do love a bit of MES’s swazz however, so this was always going to get a good rating from me. He would probably hate that however.

80s punk / post-punk. I can see why this might be influential but I can also see why I've never heard of it. It's mostly simple riffs and instrumentation with kind of eerie vibes, with the singer being neither in tune nor in time with the music. Some of it was pretty difficult to listen to but most of it was just a bit boring.

Unremarkable and too long :( Some cool guitar throughout. Favorite Track: The Mansion Spolit Victorian Child

Feel The Wrath of My Bombast 1001 Albums Generator 380 (10/27/2026) I really thought I was gonna like this more. Weird early punk is normally my jam, but I'm just not super into The Fall's sound. There are aspects I like, like the autological Bombast, the three-bar energy of Spoilt Victorian Child, and the fact that L.A. sounds like a lost Can track at times (shout out to Damo Suzuki on a later track!). But I find the songwriting on many songs here to be pretty dry. 2.5/5, rounded down to 2 :( Favs: Bombast Spoilt Victorian Child L.A. Least Fav: Paintwork

an album that did nothing for me

I don't know how I feel about this. On one hand, it's kind of *holds up spork* random, and disjointed, and nonsense but I don't think it's necessarily...bad? I think I enjoyed it? Maybe?

I don’t get why the fall are seen as some sort of incredibly influential artistic force. Mark E Smith is an art school Davy Urquhart, he can’t sing and his lyrics are not as clever as he thinks they are…. Kudos for carving a 40 year career out of no real talent other than belligerence. This album is as good as they got and it’s only alright 2.6

Occasionally there is a good riff and something to get interested in. But every song suffers from so much repetition to the point of boredom and as a result the album is about 3 times as long as it needs to be.

I listened, was okay

I'm aware of The Fall, and I seem to remember they have one or two hits in the kinda post-Punk / Emo genre. But I haven't listened to a full album before. It was fine, for that genre. I quite liked it. If it slightly infiltrates my Spotify algorithm, that's ok. I think I'm damning them with faint praise! Look, it's a 3. Let's move on...

Going in blind, never listened to the fall before. I liked the guitar work making the tracks seem different to each other with some catchy riffs. I found the vocals a little indistinct, though that's stylistically appropriate. I didn't hate it, but didn't fall (ha ha) in love with it. 2.5

It was OK. Nothing that sounded much different than other post punk bands. Still a good listen though.

Actually a pretty cool album, you can see the influence they had on bands like Pavement.

Rating: 4.7/5 Short Review: What a gloriously strange, abrasive record. Mark E. Smith sounds like a perpetually irritated man ranting at strangers in a pub, while the band delivers these ridiculously infectious basslines and jagged guitar riffs. It’s messy, hypnotic, occasionally hilarious, and surprisingly catchy. The repetition shouldn’t work this well, but somehow it becomes addictive. Post-punk at its most wonderfully stubborn. Favorite Track: I Am Damo Suzuki. A fantastic tribute to Can, with a relentless groove that feels like it could go on forever.

Páčila sa mi hlavne druhá polovica platne. Tá prvá je taká kostrbatá. K textom, o ktoré v týchto piesňach asi hlavne ide, sa neviem vyjadriť, nerozumiem angličtine až tak...

Very cool album, classic British punk sound but with some unusual elements mixed in for variety and intrigue.

good album but nothing special, i am too tired to say anything more

This is a very strange band. It is alt Brit pop that has an edge, but often feels unfocused and void. There are some great hooks and some interesting sounds and moments, but ultimately, unsatisfying. Worth the listen, but I probably won't return to it.

"Oh shit! It's James Murphy" - me listening to this. Mark would hate that thought, he'd despise with all his spirit. Anyways, a swell post-punk record that goes all over the place. I prefer the original LP tracklist since the two added tracks on the cassette and CD don't break much ground. They only make the album 12 minutes longer and that's not as easy to take as short-cut to Side B instead. Side B has most of the goodness. The trip-taping of Paint Work and repeated Hey Mark like a rambling Tommy Wiseau and the surprisingly upbeat Gut Of The Quantifier. If anything else, I now know where the "ah" tic came from. Here's Cedric from At The Drive In/Mars Volta shouting these folks out: https://youtu.be/TGMT7hb8hT8?si=qtDZck1aPjSoem3M. This is the final review I write before I get my hands on the physical book for the first time ever (8/10, 4/5 on this scale)

This is my second album from The Fall. The first one, I quit before it was over. This is FAR better. Really good, actually. There was nothing on here I didn't like ⭐⭐⭐.75

Its music

Hard work to get through, nothing that hooked me. Felt like being stuck in traffic

Great guitar slashing over a bruising rhythm section.

Barmy - j'aime bien l'instru C’est pas mauvais mais pas exceptionnel non plus 2.5

Pas mal. Apparemment le chanteur était fou. J'aime bien les arrangements de guitare etc...

One of my two favourite Fall albums

Låång platta! Men härligt postpunkigt

Again? I didn't think it was all that great last time, to be honest.

Expected this to be early aughts emo, but was pleasantly surprised to find a solid post-punk album. Really enjoyed it.

Didn't feel particularly inspired

My third Fall album on the list. I'd prefer more artists and fewer albums for each, but I do love The Fall.

Meh. Another bang average post-punk album that didn't really impress me. Sounded a lot like the Velvet Underground for some reason, and I liked that there was a song about Damo Suzuki.

Better than live at the witch trails, but not by very much.

It's just okay. Not very interesting. I really don't think it belongs on this list.

A not-intolerable stop on the road from VU to Sonic Youth. I didn't mind it at all.

For British post punk, honestly not bad; could have been much worse. I liked the lyrics and the guitars, but otherwise it just wasn’t that exciting

First time listening to The Fall, and I have to say, I didn't hate it. The jangling guitar occasionally hooked. Would have liked more bass. Vocals were often incoherent. I seem to be on a string of 3 ratings.

utterly boring

Kind of derivative of a lot better stuff.

Sometimes the lead singer rambles on a bit, but punk-rock singers are supposed to ramble on a bit.

3.5 - enjoyed it but a bit too long

The Fall are a Post-Punk I enjoy and sparingly listen to their stuff. I got into them through the Gorillaz with a Mark E Smith (lead singer) featured song “Glitter Freeze”. Now for post punk bands I will say I prefer Joy Division and Public Image LTD. The Fall have a wide variety of albums so I know I prefer some of their later 80s stuff more. This one is considered their most popular and I do enjoy it but it’s not quite there for me. It’s a light 3.5 , leaning more towards the 3 but it’s got some good stuff The riff in “Barmy” is amazing and I really loved the slowed down feel of “L.A”, and the Can inspired “ I Am Damo Suzuki”. Other tracks I enjoyed to a lesser extent were “My New House” & “Paintwork” 3.5

This list should be called 1001 albums by British people of a certain age. Theres so much British punk and post punk on here you'd think they were the most important music genre in tbe history of the world This wasnt the worst but im mostly over this kind of shit on here. Some good music. Bizarre mumblemouth singing.

this just kept going and going and going i thought it would never stop

If youre super into post punk this might be essential listening. I do not fall into that category of listener so I dont ever need to hear this again in my lifetime. 2 stars.

Oh boy. More 80’s British post-punk. This album makes me think that I can make music, as I also lack musical talent. I can just learn a few chords and repeat myself over and over. 2.0 stars

Знаю, що альбом культовий, але мене він особливо ніколи не захоплював. Це прослуховування ситуацію не змінило.

Цей альбом сподобався більше ніж попередній з цього списку. Тут є прям мега хіт, L.A. На рум поставив 3.5 навіть. Залишу в себе в бібліотеці.

Mangle revidering

I think The Fall would be pretty pleased knowing how many people they’ve pissed off here with this album. Come on, how can you not have fun with “Barmy”?

Feels like the aftermath of the apocalypse but still manages to have a pop edge at the same time. Good stuff. 4

Really really liked this.

I hadn't heard of this band and didn’t recognise any of the songs on the album. It sounded a bit like they were trying to sound like The Beatles, albeit not to a particularly high level. Mark E. Smith's chaotic, semi spoken vocal style and repetitive riffs make track after track blend together. The songs sounded very similar and nothing really stood out. Overall, the album is distinctly average, and I'm not sure why it's listed as a must hear album. 5/10

As cool as this seems to be im just not a post punk guy. Give me the more simple and streamlined actual punk proper every day. This just gets too bogged down with repetition and to me its just looses the plot. This type of music is its own thing but when its name is referential it doesnt do itself any favors with being compared. Its fine. Just I much much much prefer the short and sweet speed of punk music. Seven or eight minute songs with lots of the same motifs hammered out from start to finish just isnt an enjoyable listening experience for me. Its more danceable sure but thays not thr kind of thing im looking for. I want distilled songs. All killer no filler types of songs. This just isnt that. The only song I saved was couldnt get ahead because its the most straight punk rock. And looking through the bands top songs on tidal I couldnt even find it. So im in the minority. Its just not for me. But its decent all the same. I know ive harped on it hard the whole review but its ok. Its not for me but I see the appeal. Its not without merits. Just those merits and my values dont line up. And thats OK. You guys out there can love this all day and im happy for you all but ill just put on some buzzcocks or black flag or even se goofy pop punk and be happy myself. Glad you guys like what you do

705/1001 2026.09.18 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑

Exactly what I'd expect from a punk album.

I had to give this album a couple tries. I expected to like it the first time early morning over coffee but found the abrupt songwriting style and vocal delivery kinda jarring. I listened to it again while doing some physical labour and found that it delivered more of what I was expecting. The Fall are super specific and unique in their approach to songwriting and I can understand how they wouldn't be for everyone or good in every occasion but there is a right time and place for this band. I'm not sure if this list need three of their albums... But I suppose that's aside from the point.

Now here’s some weird post-punk that absolutely hits the mark for me. The Fall are probably one of the bands that has grown on me the most throughout this project. I really wasn’t a fan of Live at the Witch Trials, which was the first album the generator gave me. The Infotainment Scan was much better, but still wasn’t quite my favourite. I’m on a second listen to the Nation’s Saving Grace now and I am genuinely really enjoying this album. It’s a perfect mix of avant-garde experimentalism and post-punk with just enough pop sensibility to hold it all together.

The vocals sound more like talking at me. Some interesting rhythm but not really my jam.

Much preferred this to their other album I've had. Interesting, melodic and weird.

Enjoyed listening to this album for the first time 🎶 🎵

Min första tanke när jag satte på det här albumet var: ”shit det här låter ju nice”. Men för varje låt som gick kände jag mig mindre och mindre imponerad. Jag kan summera albumet såhär: albumet består av 16 låtar som alla består av ett, visserligen ganska catchy, riff som upprepas konstant i 4 minuter med väldigt ointressant sång över. VAR ÄR VARIATIONEN!?? Jag hoppas grabbensomintekollarpåexplosioner håller med mig i detta men detta var verkligen inte toppen. Jag ger det 5/10 då det säkert blir lite bättre om man lyssnar lite mer.

Okej okej, jag ska vara ärlig bara lyssnat igenom en gång. Men några låtar har lyssnat om igen på. För att vara ärlig hade jag extremt låga förhoppningar på detta album då det klassas som ett post punk album. Vilket vi alla vet vad jag tyckte om public image post punk album… Men helt ärligt är jag förvånansvärt överraskad. Tycker detta album har några låtar som är intressanta med coola koncept och jag gillar hyfsat mycket ändå sångare. Gillar hur det finns dynamik i albumet tillskillnad från ett viss annat album 🙄🙄. Här kommer en snabb låt för låt anteckning: Mandion : usel postpunk slopp. Låter som public image Bombast: är storslagen med många lager och sång som jag älskar ljudet av!! Gillar slutet ganska mycket faktiskt med hur allt bara adderas ihop Barmy: Tycker låten är helt okej. Bryggan och mot slutet är hyfsat nice!! Men gitarren gillar inte effekterna sååå mycket. What you need: postpunk slopp med ett dåligt riff. Låter som en ormbarst låt utan deras sång. Small Victorian child: tar postpunken signatur repetition och har något catchy för en gångs skull. Betyder dock inte att jag gillar låten särskilt mycket. L.A: Är definitivt min favorit från albumet. Gillar synthen som genomsyrar hela låten och riffet är väldigt nice. Tycker sångaren gör ganska mycket här, med effekter och unikt obrydd approach. Låten slutar med att dra ihop alla element av låten i något storslaget. Väldigt nice. Vixen: ehhh helt okej, nice refräng och kvinnan som sjunger, men inte mer direkt. Couldn’t get ahead: gillar verkligen inte munspelet på denna låt, men resten är inte dåligt direkt. Iallafall en av dem bättre låtarna (om inte munspelet var med) Okej helt ärligt orkar jag inte med denna ide av låt per låt. Albumet är okej, skulle säkert gilla de mer om jag lyssna mer. Men det finns så mycket mer musik som på direkt pratar med mig, som jag hellre lyssnar på. Därför ger jag Grabbensomintekollarpåexplosioner detta album av The Fall en 5/10!

Good punk

Fine little punk record. Decent baselines but overall it felt a bit meh. Still though, not bad. 6/10

It never got my interest but it was at least listenable punk. Felt like they would be fun live. 3 out of 5.

Really enjoyed this one. Might have been a tad too long (a common complaint of mine), but a good album.

Post-punk ... new wave ... is pretty much where I am at these days.

the 8th album release from british post-punk group the fall, and described by sources as being their most accessible album, largely due to its production and writing techniques. the fall themselves are one of those cult groups, didn't achieve mainstream success but the real post-punk heads around the UK and other parts of the world hold them in high regard. recording for the album started shortly after some band members left after an altercation. this album has a lot going for it! songs of all sorts, different vocalists, some soft songs some hard. we've got a bit of sample usage, and the incorporation of drum machines give this record a nice sense of identity. this is an album you ideally want to listen to when you want to choke someone. brilliant repetitive sludgevomit when it allows itself to get there. all and all, this is a generally good listen, not at a top spot but nothing to complain about, really.

My first Fall album, and I enjoyed it! I’ve read it’s thought of as one of their most accessible albums, but I’m willing to try more. Favourite track: Spoilt Victorian Child

Nope

JL : 2, My New House

It's okay but I'm not a big fan of punk so it doesn't do much for me.

I guess this is one reason to be happy that this list is so UK-centric: three albums by the Fall are on it! They are one of my favorite bands and I don't care what anyone says otherwise. I've been listening to this band since college. At first, I was going to make the inane comparison that the Fall is like the Marmite of experimental/alternative rock: you either get it, or you don't. But that would be stupid and do an enormous disservice to how smart this band always was, especially during one of their creative peaks here. In spite of the turmoil plaguing the band at the time—the drummer and bass player, brothers Paul and Steve Hanley, quit after Mark E. Smith (already hard to work with so early on) implied that it was their fault their gear was stolen from their truck—this remains one of the band's all-time career highs, save for the contributions of Brix Smith, Mark's partner at the time. Her songs are vastly underrated in the Fall's catalogue (such as "Vixen"), and her guitar work is fantastic and melodic. Steve Hanley eventually returned, and the remaining band as a whole is extremely tight and skilled, shifting quickly between moods and structures, making this a top-notch starting point for people puzzled about how to get into the Fall. What moods they are, too! Often tight and methodical, the songs can quickly degenerate into surreal darkness and weirdness, with off-tempos, weird tunings, and lots and lots of noise piled on top, such as on "Paintwork" and in the interludes of "Barmy" (which hilariously rips off the Monkees' "Valleri"). Mark E. Smith never sounded so confident, either: listen to his yelps and hollers on tracks like "Bombast" and "I Am Damo Suzuki." Some of their catchiest, most intense songs are on here, too—classics that we would play often on college radio: "Spoilt Victorian Child," "Couldn't Get Ahead," and "My New House," each one more demented than the next. The non-hits are fascinating here as well: the toxic ode to Los Angeles on "L.A.," the druggy, loungy "What You Need," and the '60s monster-movie tribute "Monster." It's not always consistent or enjoyable, but it might be the best album this band ever made. To enjoy it, you have to already have a strong interest in many types of music, as well as atonal singing and politically inclined lyrics. Luckily, I do, which either means I have fantastic taste or the worst taste ever—but that's kind of the point of the Fall. A work of art, simultaneously dumb AND smart, and most importantly, catchy as hell. 5 stars.

Solid post punk grungy British rock. Super fun listen. Feels like a band that still has something to say eight albums in.

This band generally ain’t for me but this was okay

Goede punten: het is redelijk uniek, het is her en der best boeiend en intrigerend, soms heeft het echt wel een leuk riff, het is raar. Slechte punten: het is echt raar, de slechte riffs gaan even lang door als de goeie, het wordt wel vrij eentonig. Dus. Ik zou dit denk ik 3,5 ster geven, maarja dat kan niet.

Define album. The original lp from 1985 has 11 songs, the original cassette also from 1985 has 14 songs and the original cd from 1988 has 16 songs. The link to Apple Music leads to the Expanded Edition with 31 songs and the reissue from 2011 is a box containing 48 songs. Which version is the album I need to listen to so I can die? In the eighties I heard about The Fall, but never heard The Fall. I like guitar music so I actually enjoyed this first listen.

It's-uh 5-uh.

soooooo boring. I'm sure it was revolutionary for its time but it rankles me now

Brooding punk that’s more musical than expected.

Not my cup of tea, they're known for being repetitive yet all over the place, which is exactly why its 2 stars for me

Longer than I would've liked. Also not as good as I would've liked. Some songs are kind of catchy I suppose but ultimately forgettable. Would be fine to put on in the background while doing other stuff. 5/10

Meh

3.5

Fine I guess but who constructs this list and thinks " you know what's missing, another Fall album"

Álbum muito legal. Deu pra sentir porque é tão influente no som de bandas de rock alternativo que vieram depois. CVJ Aria.

“You take sugar?” “No thank you, Turkish. I'm sweet enough.” Snatch (2000)

My cool friends listened to this a lot, back when it was new. They were right.

Been waiting almost a year for a Fall album to show up. Seeing this roll through, I didn't have to change my listening habits at all. Just go into the Recently Played, stroll back six or seven albums and oh, here it is - This Nation's Saving Grace. I'll have weeklong stretches where I can only listen to Fall albums. Everything else will sound wrong if Mark's not singing and threading a perfect balance of atonal and catchy. Essential music. The Fall is intimidating in the abstract given the lore around it, how difficult Mark E. Smith's lyrics are to decode, and the amount of albums they released, not to mention the dizzyingly bad curation on streaming but when you break through the pack ice, the discography is segmented into clear eras. This mid-80s era is the "poppiest" and if you're still listening to The Smiths at xx, this era Fall should replace them effective immediately. This Nation's Saving Grace isn't my favorite of the extended Brix era (Wonderful & Frightening World is likely the favorite although I've been bumping Perverted by Language a lot recently) but songs like Barmy are some of the catchiest songs they ever recorded. But Barmy, a great Mark/Brix composition, is set there like a sinking lure for listeners to be exposed to My New House or Yarbles. For this listen, I went virgin and cut the singles that were added to later releases (like, literally the 1985 cassette release) - so no Couldn't Get Ahead, Rollin' Dany, Crusiers' Creek, or Petty (Thief) Lout. While I'm a huge fan of those songs - Couldn't Get Ahead especially, the album flows a little more coherently with those excised.