Shift-Work marked the sophomore effort from a new
Brix-less
Fall and is a slightly more subdued effort than the raging
Extricate. It also marked a new direction for
Mark E. Smith and the band as what once was repetitious grooves became interspersed with pop song structures. Don't worry, the classic riffage is still here in "The War Against Intelligence," "Idiot Joy Showland," and "So What About It." But there does seem to be a softening of
Smith, albeit slightly. He still rails against foolish pop stars, mass media, and the spawn of the Manchester scene (side two is headed "Notebooks Out Plagiarists") but also here are paeons to Edinburgh ("Edinburgh Man," surprisingly malice-free), social observation ("Shift Work" looks at a modern marriage and is more wistful than angry), and an electronics and violin led portrait of a DJ ("The Mixer"). Probably what's most surprising is that in retrospect most of this works, although it begins to run out of steam near the end. There are hooks and melodies here, and the group ineffably remain
the Fall. The following year's
Code: Selfish would return to a much harder sound, leaving this a melancholic, introspective album. [The 2007 two-CD reissue includes 16 bonus cuts.] ~ Ted Mills