Dragnet

Mark E. Smith’s paranoid post-punk vision finds its sharpest focus on Dragnet, a 1979 debut that channels new wave’s angular precision into The Fall’s jagged, repetitive assault. Step-Forward Records captured the band at their most confrontational, with Smith’s deadpan vocals cutting through abrasive guitar work and hypnotic rhythms that feel less like songs than interrogations. Essential early post-punk that established The Fall’s uncompromising template.