Grotesque, The Fall's third studio album from 1980, is even rated by The Fall fans as one of the group's most difficult and challenging albums. It mainly contains studio jams built around one chord, in which the manic rockabilly of Hasil Adkins seems to marry the ignorant and sloppy playing of The Shaggs. This makes Grotesque one of the most extreme and aggressive statements from the already mild
… oeuvre of the band. As one of the first groups (followed by, for example, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine), The Fall manages to create a pure musical cacophony so emphatically and urgently that a certain beauty flourishes from it. Over that, singer and provocateur Mark E. Smith sings and blares his throbbing sociopolitical monologues, in highlights such as Pay Your Rates and the almost melodic Impression Of J. Temperance. Not for the weak, but recommended for fans of any kind of musical and textual anarchy.more
