''Imperial Wax Solvent'' is a studio album by the Fall – the band's 26th – released in the UK on 28 April 2008. The album featured a new British-based lineup after the departures of the American musicians who had been recruited to salvage a 2006 tour of the US and subsequently appeared on 2007's '' Reformation Post TLC''. Frontman

Mark E. Smith Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistol ...

, keyboardist Elena Poulou and bassist Dave Spurr remain from the previous incarnation. They were joined on ''Imperial'' by guitarist Pete Greenway (a guest guitarist on the previous album) and drummer Keiron Melling. Spurr, Greenway and Melling would prove to be the band's most stable lineup, enduring for six studio albums until Smith's death in 2018. It was the first Fall album since 2001's '' Are You Are Missing Winner'' to have been turned around in a year. An album a year was always the norm for the group in the past but this practice slipped in the period 2001–2007 (2006 was the first year since the group's inception that saw the emergence of no new material at all, with a cover of the Monks' "Higgledy Piggledy" from the tribute album '' Silver Monk Time'' being the only recorded appearance). ''Imperial Wax Solvent'' was also the first studio album since ''Are You Are Missing Winner'' to make prominent use of the low-fi production techniques which were previously one of the Fall's hallmarks: the

Groundhogs The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as the woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. A lowland creature of North America, it is found through much of the Easte ...

cover "Strangetown" has noticeable skips, and certain tracks on the album are presented in mono.

Reception and release

The album was well-received by critics, scoring an 81/100 on

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

. The album entered the UK album chart at #35, the Fall's first time on the Top 40 since 1993's '' The Infotainment Scan'' reached #9. The album received some press attention when, due to a pressing error, the music of the album was recorded onto the first shipment of

Faryl Smith Faryl Smith (born 23 July 1995) is a British soprano who performs opera, classical and classical crossover music. Smith rose to fame after appearing on the second series of the ITV television talent show ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2008 as a ...

's debut album '' Faryl''. ''Imperial Wax Solvent'' was reissued by

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything but the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as w ...

on limited edition translucent yellow vinyl for

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

2019 and as an expanded 3CD edition in 2020.The Fall: Imperial Wax Solvent, 3CD Digipak
''

''. Retrieved 8 September 2021.

Track listing

*"Strangetown" includes elements of "Garden", also written by McPhee and originally performed by the Groundhogs.

2020 expanded edition

;Disc 1 - original album *as per original edition ;Disc 2 - Britannia Row recordings 21/9/07 *Unused recordings made at

Britannia Row Studios Britannia Row Studios was a recording studio in Islington, London N1 (1975–1995), and then Fulham, London SW6, England (1995–2015). It was built by the English rock band Pink Floyd, who used it to record their albums ''Animals'' (1977) and '' T ...

in London. ;Disc 3 - De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex 10/5/08 *An entire live set recorded at

De La Warr Pavilion The De La Warr Pavilion is a grade I listed building, located on the seafront at Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, on the south coast of England. The Modern architecture, Modernist and International style (architecture), International Style buildin ...

, Bexhill on Sea,

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

Personnel

The Fall *

- vocals, production * Eleni Poulou - keyboards, vocals, lead vocals on "I've Been Duped" * Peter Greenway - guitar * David Spurr - bass guitar * Keiron Melling - drums Technical *

Grant Showbiz Grant Showbiz (real name Grant Cunliffe) is a British record producer principally known for his work with the Fall, the Smiths, and Billy Bragg plus as an artist in his own right with Moodswings. He has worked on more albums by both the Fall (15 ...

- production * Andi Toma - production * Tim Baxter - production * Tom Pritchard - engineering * Simon 'Dingo' Archer - engineering * Olliver Groscheck - engineering *

Anthony Frost Anthony Frost (born 1951) is a British painter noted for his abstract art, abstract works consisting of brightly coloured prints and collages. Biography Frost was born in St. Ives, Cornwall, the son of Terry Frost, Sir Terry Frost. From 1970 t ...

- cover art

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2008 albums The Fall (band) albums Albums produced by Grant Showbiz