Sub-Lingual Tablet
by The Fall
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
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  1. PopMatters
    Jun 22, 2015
    60
    There’s nothing wrong with anything on Tablet, simply that Smith has been doing the same thing for so long that one starts to wonder what he might be able to do if he set his sights a little higher.
  2. Pitchfork
    Jun 8, 2015
    60
    In spite of their surprising stability, this iteration of the Fall is strangely lacking in audible camaraderie, and on Sub-Lingual Tablet, the distance between frontman and backing band feels more pronounced than ever.
  3. Classic Rock Magazine
    Jun 4, 2015
    60
    Another adequate but inessential album.
  5. Record Collector
    May 26, 2015
    60
    Smith’s voice admittedly sounds ravaged on the cranky Quit iPhone and the otherwise boisterous Stout Man, but at least he’s fully engaged throughout.
  6. The Quietus
    May 26, 2015
    60
    In many ways Sub-Lingual Tablet is, like any Fall album will be, a stranger and superior record than most released in any given year. But by The Fall's own standards, this time that's just not good enough.
  7. Q Magazine
    May 19, 2015
    60
    Sub-Lingual Tablet is occasionally lumpen, frequently marred by Smith's recently adopted growl yet powered by enough energy and spark to burn through any reservations. [Jun 2015, p.105]
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  8. The Guardian
    May 19, 2015
    60
    What seems to be album No 31 certainly has its share of Fall-by-numbers, in which the bass grinds on, keyboards trace spindly patterns, and Smith grumbles in one of his incomprehensible and terrifying voices--Pledge and Black Door certainly fit that description. But there are surprises, too.
  9. The Wire
    Jun 5, 2015
    50
    The atmosphere is underwrought, miserable, monochrome. [Jun 2015, p.46]
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User Reviews

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User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 13
  3. Negative: 1 out of 13
  1. JBBu
    Jun 19, 2015
    10
    This is so far the best album of the year - in a year of safe and predictable releases. It is truley amazing that The Faĺl can keep puttingThis is so far the best album of the year - in a year of safe and predictable releases. It is truley amazing that The Faĺl can keep putting out recordings of such high standards.… Full Review »
  2. mrtew
    Jun 17, 2015
    9
    Really addictive and essential when you need an album to come back to when you start to suspect the rest of the world has gone pop. AfterReally addictive and essential when you need an album to come back to when you start to suspect the rest of the world has gone pop. After untold decades they never will if they haven't by now. I don't know if this album is really better than the many dozens before it but it's definitely fresher and more compelling than I remember most of them being. Ten thousand fall fans can't be wrong! Definitely the place to start if you're not already one of us.… Full Review »
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