Fall Heads Roll

As Mark E. Smith's band head toward their third decade as the shambolic art-punk outfit that all arrogant art school kids must love even after they've gotten over their own arrogance, the amazing thing is not that they exist or still have a following despite Smith's notorious predilection for doing things onstage to his bandmates not even Rick James would have tried. What's amazing is how good their records still are, and the ways that a singer who looks like the specter of death crossed with Andy Capp who has such a limited range is so consistently engaging. Not as blindingly hateful as their prior two albums, Heads Roll is in fact among the group's finest post-Brix releases. As usual, the group's cover choices are Catholic, and "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" by the Move is on par with their take on "Victoria," which is to say, excellent. This album is long and listeners would do well to program out the last third or so, but thanks to modern technology this is not tough to accomplish. --Mike McGonigal