The Fall’s final studio album, Post Script, will be released in September, completing recordings that began before the death of founder Mark E. Smith and bringing a definitive end to one of post-punk’s most influential catalogues.
by Paul Cashmere
Eight years after the death of founder Mark E. Smith, The Fall will release what is being described as the band’s final studio album. Titled Post Script, the nine-track record is scheduled for release through Cog Sinister Records in September and features material that was being developed before Smith’s death in January 2018.
The announcement closes a chapter on one of Britain’s most enduring and unpredictable bands. Across four decades, The Fall built a catalogue that stretched from the first wave of post-punk in the late 1970s through to their final studio album, New Facts Emerge, released in 2017. While archival releases and live recordings have appeared since Smith’s passing, Post Script represents the first collection of previously unreleased studio material assembled as a complete album.
The lead track, “30 Degrees”, has already been released ahead of the album. The song was co-written by Smith alongside longtime collaborators Simon Archer and Ed Blaney in Salford, England. According to those involved in the project, the album gathers recordings that remained unfinished or unreleased during Smith’s lifetime before being completed for release.
Ed Blaney, who served as both a member of The Fall and at one stage their manager, recently revealed that the project is nearing completion.
“I have spent most of the afternoon listening to the final mixes of the official final studio album by The Fall,” Blaney wrote. “Without any doubt I can say it’s an absolutely brilliant album. A Fall fan’s dream and some.”
He added that the collection contains “nine absolute bangers” and confirmed that release and ordering details would follow.
The album arrives as renewed interest in The Fall’s legacy continues to grow. Since Smith’s death from complications associated with lung and kidney cancer at age 60, the band’s influence has become increasingly apparent across contemporary post-punk, alternative and indie rock. Artists ranging from Franz Ferdinand and LCD Soundsystem to newer generations of post-punk acts have cited The Fall’s uncompromising approach as a key inspiration.
Formed in 1976 in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, The Fall released 31 studio albums between 1979 and 2017. Throughout countless line-up changes, Smith remained the group’s sole constant member, famously remarking that “if it’s me and your granny on bongos, it’s The Fall”. His distinctive vocal style, sharp social observations and refusal to follow commercial trends helped establish the band as one of the defining acts of the British post-punk movement.
Among the band’s most celebrated releases are Hex Enduction Hour (1982), This Nation’s Saving Grace (1985), Bend Sinister (1986) and The Wonderful And Frightening World Of The Fall (1984). Although mainstream chart success was limited, The Fall maintained a fiercely loyal audience and became favourites of legendary BBC broadcaster John Peel, who famously said of the group: “They are always different; they are always the same.”
The years following Smith’s death have not been without controversy. In 2022, a number of former Fall members launched a new project called House Of All, performing and recording material associated with their time in the band. The initiative was publicly criticised by Smith’s family and estate, who stated they neither endorsed nor wished to be associated with the project.
At the same time, former guitarist and songwriter Brix Smith has continued to champion Smith’s artistic legacy. Following his death, she argued that both Smith and The Fall had been under-appreciated during their active years despite their substantial influence on alternative music.
The arrival of Post Script is therefore likely to be viewed as more than simply another archival release. For many followers of the band, it represents the final authorised chapter in a catalogue that remained remarkably prolific until Smith’s last years. It also provides a rare opportunity to hear new material connected directly to the creative period that produced New Facts Emerge.
With the release now imminent, attention will turn to how Post Script fits alongside The Fall’s extensive body of work. Whatever the critical response, the album is positioned as the last studio statement from a band whose influence extended far beyond commercial success and whose singular identity was inseparable from Mark E. Smith himself.
Tracklisting:
30 Degrees
So Long
Colonel’s Retreat
Caveat
Final Position
Retro Song
Irish Northern Man
Dehydrated
The Book
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