Sub-Lingual Tablet

Sub-Lingual Tablet is the 30th and penultimate studio album by English band The Fall, released in May 2015 by Cherry Red Records.

The album was originally going to be named Dedication Not Medication, but, according to Mark E. Smith, "it looked a bit like a Barclays advert". Sub-Lingual Tablet marks the first appearance of second drummer Daren Garratt as a full-time member (he previously guested on The Remainderer, uncredited). Meanwhile, "Black Roof" doesn't feature the regular Fall lineup at all; instead, the bulk of it was recorded by former members Rob Barbato and Tim Presley in the United States, with Smith adding the vocals later.

Two of the album's tracks were already released in 2014 in different versions – "Fibre Book Troll" on Modeselektor's Modeselektion Vol. 03 compilation and "Auto Chip 2014-2016" (as "Auto (2014) Chip Replace") on part-live, part-studio album Live: Uurop VIII-XII Places In Sun & Winter, Son.

Reception
Michael Hann of The Guardian gave the album three stars out of five, calling it "predictable and surprising in almost equal measure"; he criticised the album for having "its share of Fall-by-numbers" but also described "Auto Chip 2014-2016" as "magnificent". Chris McCall of The Skinny said that it was "easily the [band's] best [album] since 2007's Reformation Post TLC". Drowned in Sound reviewer Benjamin Bland said that while the album contained "a series of tracks that could fit into almost any period in the band's catalogue", it included "enough genuinely high quality Fall material" to be of interest to old and new fans alike.

Vinyl version

 * The double-vinyl version was released on May 25 and contains alternate versions of several tracks, most notably longer versions of "Dedication Not Medication" and "Fibre Book Troll", and shorter versions of "Auto Chip 2014-2016" and "Pledge!"

Personnel
Credits adapted from Sub-Lingual Tablet liner notes.


 * The Fall
 * Mark E. Smith – vocals, guitar on "First One Today", production
 * Peter Greenway – guitar
 * Elena Poulou – synthesizer, engineering
 * David Spurr – bass guitar
 * Keiron Melling – drums, engineering
 * Daren Garratt – drums, percussion, backing vocals on "Auto Chip 2014-2016"


 * Additional personnel


 * Rob Barbato – all instruments, recording and mixing on "Black Roof"
 * Tim Presley – all instruments, recording and mixing on "Black Roof"
 * Simon "Ding" Archer – engineering, voice on "Dedication Not Medication" (vinyl version)
 * Mat Arnold – engineering
 * Andy Pearce – mastering
 * Ken Pearson – artwork
 * Charlie Pearson – artwork