The Fall, Perverted by Language (side A)

It's always hard to describe canonical albums like 1983's Perverted by Language, as so much has already been written about them.  Perverted by Language dates from an odd, interesting point in the Fall's evolution.  The first album with Brix, it hesitantly, and seemingly begrudgingly, begins the group's gradual evolution to a more structured and professional sound.  While songs like "Eat Y'self Fitter" and "Garden" use melodies and purposeful repetition, more than on most early Fall tracks, to draw a listener in, there's still plenty of chaos spread throughout.  Even Brix' vocals, which gradually grew into a more mellifluous element, here sound nearly as strident as Mark E. Smith's.  The studio recording quality remains raw and primitive, with a gritty use of a direct bass sound, and drums that sound a bit distant in the room.  It is surprising how much space is left in a group with a double-rhythm-section — I find it unclear whether everyone plays all of the time.  The front cover, on which a painting is surrounded by a border with text, employs a simpler layout than the cut-up chaos of preceding albums like Hex Enduction Hour and Grotesque.