The Fall’s upcoming album criticized as ‘cash grab’ by Mark E Smith’s fiancée

Pamela Vander, the fiancée and final manager of the late Mark E Smith, has criticized the upcoming album ‘Post Script’ by the band The Fall, labeling it a ‘cash grab’ and ‘ethically wrong.’

The nine-track album, scheduled for release via Cog Sinister on October 2, features unused studio vocals recorded by Smith between 2001 and 2014. Former band members and associates Ed Blaney and Simon ‘Ding’ Archer have added new music to these recordings following Smith's death in 2018.

Vander disputed earlier reports that the recordings were part of a project Smith was working on before his passing. She stated that Smith had decided the 2017 album ‘New Facts Emerge’ would be the band’s final record. Vander noted that while Smith had more recent recordings, such as a cover of Madonna’s ‘Material Girl,’ he had intended for the previous release to be the conclusion of the band’s longest-running lineup.

Additionally, Vander questioned the decision to release the material under the name ‘The Fall,’ citing uncertainty regarding the ownership of the band's name and suggesting the recordings would have been more appropriate as a ‘Mark E Smith archive.’