The Infotainment Scan [140g Clear Vinyl]

The Fall: Mark E. Smith (vocals); Craig Scanlon (guitar); Dave Bush (keyboards); Stephen Hanley (bass); Simon Wolftencroft (drums).
Producers: Robert Gordon, Rex Sargeant, Simon Rogers, Mark E. Smith, Jack Adams.
1993's THE INFOTAINMENT SCAN follows the WHY ARE PEOPLE GRUDGEFUL? EP as the first full-length result of The Fall's brief tenure with Matador Records. The album finds Mark E. Smith and company in a transitional phase, moving away from the dance-y electronics of the band's turn-of-the-decade work towards a return to the guitar-based pop of the mid-'80s era that many feel was the group's highest point.
The electronic influence is still there on "It's A Curse," which recalls Stereolab's similar experiments in '70s-style krautrock, and the overtly dance-oriented "The League of Bald-Headed Men" and "Lost In Music." Elsewhere, "Ladybird (Green Grass)" echoes the late-'70s avant-funk of such groups as the Gang of Four and a respectful cover of Lee Perry's "Why Are People Grudgeful?" re-explores the post-punk fascination with dub and reggae. Throughout, Smith seems somewhat more reined-in than usual, only occasionally breaking into the sort of crazed harangues for which he's best known.