FROM FOUNDING The Fall in 1976, until his death in 2018, Mark E Smith was the band's only consistent member, with 66 other musicians passing through the ranks during that time.
As Smith famously said, "If it's me and your granny on bongos, it's The Fall." However the surviving members of the Manchester band's final line-up - Pete Greenway, Dave Spurr, Keiron Melling, and Michael Clapham (who also have the distinction of being the longest serving members of The Fall ) - who now play under the name Imperial Wax, are coming to Galway in November.
The quartet's sound will be familiar to Fall fans as it mixes punk, post-punk, Krautrock, and rockabilly. They also released their debut album, Gastwerk Saboteurs, in May, which was produced by Mat Arnold, who also worked with The Fall.
New Noise called it “a modern take on post punk”; Post Trash declared, “this is straight up infectious rock’n’roll filled with attitude and looking to get you to move”; Uber Rock said, "the idea of a band not looking for a fight but ready to end it if one should erupt"; while MOJO called it "relentless transmissions of anger, frustration and other volatile states. Mark E Smith would approve".
Imperial Wax play the Róisín Dubh on Friday November 8 at 8pm. Support is from Turnstiles and Sons Of Southern Ulster. Tickets are available from www.roisindubh.net; OMG@Zhivago, Shop Street; and the Róisín Dubh.
