The notion that a prior recording session and a tour would have solidified things with MES and this still new lineup of the Fall gets completely shattered as this hot mess of an album moves forward. The first half is rickety but damn delightful, with guitarist Neville Wilding, bassist Adam Helal, and drummer Tom Head maintaining a steady rockabilly/garage beat that heats up (the devilish “Two Librans”) and cools down (“Octo Realm/Ketamine Sun”) as needed.

The back end of Unutterable is where things start collapsing slowly. Was anyone looking for a weird lounge-jazz ode to MES’s favorite foods? Or a couple of dance remix tracks in honor of Smith’s film career? Or that MES would cede vocal control to Wilding on the most Fall-like track on the record? I’m guessing not, but I might be in the minority on that front. Reviews of the album were, by and large, very kind to this record, seeming at least happy that MES was looking to try new musical ventures rather than resort to his old tricks. There is certainly something to that — the fuzzed-up, synth laser swing of “Serum” and the motorik “Way Round” are pleasurable diversions — but that shouldn’t fool anyone into thinking this scattershot clatter has anything more to offer outside of brief flashes of decency.