The Fall Cup: Last 16, Ties 5-6

          

Tie 5: Weather Report 2 v Mountain Energei

Steve: The most difficult tie of the last 16 for me. I adore the fractured vulnerability of WR2, but Mountain's light-hearted, controlled exuberance (especially in its live recordings) brings me so much joy that I have to give it the nod.

Eric: This is the first of three consecutive ties featuring internecine 21st Century Fall Battle Royales, all of them sort of dreadful choices, this one perhaps the worst of the trio. In my "Favorite Songs by Favorite Bands" series on my website, posted in July 2020, I ranked "Energei" as #9 in my Top Ten, and "Weather" as #5.  With a lot of resigned reluctance, I'm going to hew to that ordering here and select "Weather Report 2" as my choice for advancement to the Elite Eight. "Mountain Energei" is a joy of a number, fun, catchy, cleverly arranged, and tight. All admirable elements, but the woozy and spooky and sad vibe of "Weather" has more heft and impact for me at this point, its guitar-based first part and synth-driven second half blended together in a way that shouldn't work, but does. And if that ability to achieve the sublime through perverse studio construction doesn't hit at the heart of the Fall experience, then I don't know what does.

bzfgt: This is close but ME is more coherent and focused. Like Winter, it makes mundane matters seem mystical and strange.  

Richard: I have voted against Energei in every head-to-head match; I placed it in the bottom four in round 2; I gave it 4 points in round 1. I do like it a lot, but generally it's the live versions I enjoy. So, for a good track, it's fared poorly at my hands, and that isn't changing, alas, because the mystifying yet intimately touching Weather Report is getting the vote again.

Lewis: I've been terribly hard on WR2 throughout this contest, much as I appreciate its melancholy, its aura of dark forboding and its astonishing electronica (especially in the second half), I still prefer the Chino presentation of similar subject matter. But having had several more listens, it has grown on me lots (again esp the second half). Mountain Energei has always been a favourite TRNFLP song, swaggering along with its catchy tune that leaves you humming it all day. Upshot: I moved onto live versions, having said today on the FOF that this is not really the right approach. But I did, and I'm afraid WR2 was pretty appalling in most cases, it just doesn't work well at all, while Mountain just towers above, becoming literally bigger and better with every performance and for me it deserves to move on to the QF. I have a feeling I might be disappointed. 

Result: Weather Report 2 2 - Mountain Energei 3

Tie 6: Dr Bucks' Letter v Theme From Sparta FC

Steve: A relatively easy choice for this stage of proceedings. Sparta is another track where a last 16 finish feels appropriate. I wrote in YMGTA that DBL is 'one of the group’s finest ever moments, where a disparate array of sounds, words and approaches coalesce into a magnificent whole' and I stand by that.

Eric: This pairing is similar to the prior one in matching a stompy/straightforward number with a more spacious and weird one. And as with "Weather" vs "Energei," you've got one number that's a solid bit of Having Fun in the Studio With MES ("Sparta"), and one that's of a bit darker lyrical hue in its early going, as Mark vulnerably regrets damaging a friendship ("Bucks"). But whereas "Weather Report 2" starts sad, and just gets sadder and sadder and sadder as it trundles along, "Bucks" takes a surprising magpie turn toward the light, as Mark brings himself back from the edge by putting the radio on and getting the magazine out and entering the realm of the essence of Tong. The unscripted chuckle in the credit card bit therein is a truly classic Fall moment, endearing and perfect. So "Bucks" it is for me, favoring the finest moment of the high-quality Julia Nagle era here, just as I favored what I consider to be Eleni Poulou's finest moment with "Weather Report." They were huge and important players in the group's narrative, and I hope to see/hear them both in the Elite Eight.

bzfgt: This isn’t close at all. Sparta is a very joyful listen, but I look at it more as a catchy hit single vs. DBL which is a major work. Another one that makes mundane matters feel weighty and mysterious.  

Richard: We all adore a Kia Ora...sorry, advert themes Smith has stolen aside, we all adore Sparta FC, but no amount of rousing indie anthem action can beat Letter, which is a track that no other band in the history of sound could have written.

Lewis: Dr Bucks' is a valuable part of those opening nine Unutterable tracks which make the album so surprisingly brilliant. Its filthy bassline rumbles along menacingly while MES tells his tale of woe, interjected with a few laughs and moments of humour. It has done extremely well to get to the last 16, but here it should stop. Sparta is enormous fun, apart from in it's original COTC guise, but that was soon replaced by the excellent Peel session and various TRNFLP mixes. It simply deserves a shot at the quarter finals where it will fare much better than it's opponent here I think

Result: Dr Bucks' Letter 4 - Theme From Sparta FC 1

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