The House Of All may be formed of musicians who were all members of The Fall, yet their debut has enough of its own identity to keep both die hard Fall fans and newbies entertained. Unsurprisingly there are similarities between the general soundscape of The House Of All’s tunes, and The Fall, after all the members between them did write some of the best Fall tunes over the years, yet what sets this debut album apart is the sense of melody and playfulness which seems to be at the forefront of The House Of All’s songwriting.
House Of All
Singer Martin Bramah’s vocal delivery brings to mind a slowed down psychedelic Sleaford Mods in places, with opening track ‘Anyebite’ finding Bramagh delivering a snarling vocal line with a Fall esque exuberance and sharp choppy riffs whereas ‘Dominus Ruinea’ has a shimmering guitar melodic line as its centrepiece with the whole band joining in on the vocal chanting of the title in a repetitive mantra ‘Harlequin Duke’ is simply a powerhouse of a anthem, with Steve Hanley’s thunderous bassline propelling the tune along as the drumbeats provide the perfect backing. ‘There’s More’ has a hypnotic riff which is relentless yet provides the perfect accompaniment for Bramah’s half sung, half spoken vocal delivery which is as hard hitting as ever.
‘The Magic Sound’ has a stomping beat matched by a hefty bass line from Hanley providing the rhythmic backbone, as Bramah muses on “guitars carelessly agitated, always hussling, stealing, petty pilfering” as the guitars from Pete Greenway dance around the main melody adding another level to the tune. The excellent ‘Turning Of The Years’ sees them crank up the melodies even further, whilst the song seems to concern itself with taking a different view on people and situations as time passes, although the cryptic lyrics are probably left for the listener to decode in whichever way they wish.
All House Of All members have been steadfastly doing their own music related endeavours since their time in The Fall. Bramah was the original vocalist in The Fall, but as Mark E Smith’s guitar skills weren’t up to scratch, they swapped places. Bramah hasn’t been idle since his departure from The Fall all those years ago, with numerous Blue Orchids albums and solo albums under his belt.
Steve Hanley, The Fall’s longest serving bassist has also been busy, as bassist with Brix And The Extricated, a wonderfully written autobiography and the brilliant podcast ‘Oh Brother’ cohosted with brother Paul Hanley, also an amazing author of great musical books.
House Of All
Joining them are drummer Si Wolstencroft, who joined The Fall around the time Paul Hanley left,(and subsequently since leaving The Fall has also released a brilliant autobiography)and guitarist Pete Greenway who was present in the final Fall line up prior to Mark E Smith’s death. It’s a line up of ex Fall members who all played their part in the history of The Fall but who, until now, had never played all together before.
The result is a stunning debut which manages to capture the musical inventiveness behind a lot of the Fall’s sound, yet has The House Of All’s distinctive stamp running through its core. A thrilling listen.
House Of All by House Of All id Out Now on Tiny Global Productions
From the early days of creating handmade zines, in a DIY paper and glue style, interviewing bands around town, then pestering Piccadilly Records to sell them, to writing for various independent mags such as Chimp and Ablaze, writing about the music I love is still a great passion. After testing the music industry waters in London with stints at various labels, being back in my hometown again, writing about this city’s vibrant music scene is as exciting as ever. All time favourite bands include Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, Patti Smith although anything from electro to folk via blues and pysch rock will also do nicely too. A great album, is simply a great album, regardless of whatever musical cage you put it in.
