Grotesque (After the Gramme)

Grotesque (After the Gramme) was the Fall's first studio album for Rough Trade and the first with drummer Paul Hanley, Steve Hanley's younger brother. It was recorded at Cargo Studios in Rochdale and at Street Level in London. The group produced it with Grant Showbiz, Geoff Travis and Mayo Thompson, and manager Kay Carroll played kazoo on "New Face in Hell". The colour sleeve, the group's first, was drawn by Smith's sister Suzanne.

Two acclaimed singles, "How I Wrote 'Elastic Man'" and Totally Wired, came before it and appear on CD reissues. Smith called the music "Country 'n' Northern". "The N.W.R.A." stands for "The North Will Rise Again". Al Spicer said "The Container Drivers" shatters the stereotype of the noble trucker.

It went to number one on the UK Independent Chart and spent 29 weeks there.

Reception

Johnny Waller of Sounds called it "rock n' roll with a conscience", and Robert Christgau likened it to poetry readings with two-chord backing. Joe Gross, in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide, named it "the first truly great Fall album". Billboard ranked it fifth among the group's albums in 2018.