The Fall
Dragnet

THE REVIEW

Getting lost in the universe of Mark E. Smith is a fairly widespread practice, born from an boundless passion and an indomitable spirit, fully manifested in the colossus The Fall.

"Dragnet," the second LP of the then quintet from the Mancunian hinterland, was the culmination of a journey that began in 1976 and, truth be told, remains an open and multifaceted endeavor to this day. Here, the themes that would feed the polyhedral mutations of The Fall are dissected, both lyrically and musically. Working class anger, minimalist and sparse Punk Rock, guitars capable of drawing both Velvetian mantras ("Before The Moon Falls") and recalling Michael Karoli's brilliant arabesques, are explicitly evidenced in "Psykick Dance Hall" and the Can chant "Figure Walks".

Within these boundaries, or rather stepping out of them, the full breadth of Mark E. Smith's wild poetics is revealed, steering us through possessions (the sabbath "Spectre vs. Rector"), attacks on the music industry ("Printhead") and meta-political awakenings ("Muzorewi's Daughter"). Above all emerges an extremely accomplished Pop sensitivity, no matter how sparse and primitive, which finds its sublimation in the frantic dance of "Flat Of Angles". From the melody of this album, less exuberant than its predecessor, they will embark on the next "Grotesque (After The Gramme)," only to continue their linearly evolutionary process.

"Dragnet" is Mark E. Smith's first great declaration of war.