THE FALL: “Fall Heads Roll” 2LP

Description

THE FALL: “Fall Heads Roll” 2LP. Released 3rd Apr 2026

Fall Heads Roll is the 24th studio album by English post-punk group the Fall, released in 2005. Although well-received by critics, it didn’t reach the top 100 of the UK Albums Chart, and was the last album released by the band prior to major personnel changes.

The album was recorded at Lisa Stansfield’s Gracieland Studios in Rochdale, UK and at Gigantic Studios in New York City.

In a March 2005 interview with Kitchen Sink magazine prior to the album’s release, singer Mark E. Smith mentioned Heads Are Rolling and If You Assume as two possible titles.

The album includes a cover version of the Move’s “I Can Hear the Grass Grow”, and “What About Us?”, a song written from the point of view of an East German immigrant who berates Harold Shipman for giving morphine to old ladies instead of him. “Breaking the Rules” evolved from the band’s attempts to record “Walk Like a Man”, with lyrics from a song by Bec Walker, an aspiring singer who had been on work experience at Gracieland Studios at the time the album was recorded. The album’s closing track, “Trust in Me”, features guest lead vocals from Kenny Cummings of the band Shelby, who had first met Smith and Elena Poulou at the Gigantic offices earlier on the day it was recorded, with additional vocal contributions from Phil Schuster of Shelby, and recording engineers Billy Pavone and Simon “Ding” Archer.

Although the Sanctuary group had reissued several earlier Fall albums and their Peel Sessions box set (on their Castle Communications imprint), this was the first album of new Fall material to be released by them, on this occasion appearing on their Slogan label. The UK version was released on CD and as limited vinyl pressing of 1,000, and was preceded by a single release of “I Can Hear the Grass Grow”. In the US, the album was their second release with Narnack Records. The US double LP edition of the album contains a different version of the track “Blindness”.

“Blindness” was used in a 2007 US television ad campaign for the Mitsubishi Outlander.

It was the last album with this lineup of the band to be released; A later album was largely completed but left unreleased when Smith parted company with most of the band members.