Live Review: The Fall

Since the late '70s British punk band The Fall has been the vehicle that Mark E Smith has used to deliver his sneering anti-establishment sermons with a defiant middle finger held high in the air.

Smith's always maintained a rotating line-up on the band but the group playing tonight is the longest serving, recently producing five of The Falls' 31 albums. From punk to '80s post-punk to the long and grinding road of heavy rock that they have wandered on since the '90s, The Fall emerge with their unique distillation of old school punk, Detroit garage, Kosmische and untamed rock that's completely out of control. It's been a reasonably well kept secret that since Your Future Our Clutter, Smith has been recording tunes that rivals the material The Fall released way back when. The set kicks off with No Respects from 2013's Re-Mit and the setlist unapologetically favours the new album Sub-Lingual Tablet and unreleased tracks. They are unapologetic about not wishing to indulge fans in nostalgia and all is forgiven as they unleash a tightly wound noise that's harsh and unforgiving but also spellbindingly brilliant. Smith's wife Elena Poulou adds haunting electronic tones to a mix that's dominated by thumping rhythms and Peter Greenway's lead guitar. At times they slip into locked groove with cuts like Dedication Not Medication which get deep into hypnotic motorik repetition. Even Smith seems surprised when he hands the microphone to a shrieker in the crowd whose primal screaming on that song slips easily into the mix.

The band work with machine-like precision to produce a polished sound over which Mark E Smith largely slobbers all over with voice that sounds likes it been soaked in whiskey and cracked with age. Smith mumbles and caterwauls his way through the set, the vigorous energy of his youth largely departed. These days he gets by on that larger than life personality that's hard to contain. Initially, the effect is a little like watching your grandpa strike some punk rock poses but as the set progresses and as the bile starts to flow, Smith maintains a dark sardonic presence that delights his largely aging and male fans. Tonight The Fall demonstrate the enduring power of aggressive punk and rock, illustrating with a certain eccentricity why they continue to maintain something of a cult following.