SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: MARKET – THE CONSISTENT BRUTAL BULLSHIT GONG

Market
The Consistent Brutal Bullshit Gong
Western Vinyl

At some point you reach a stage when some mellow, subdued, harmony vocal pop rock with intelligent lyrics just fits the bill perfectly.

In the late 90s and at the turn of the millennium, some artists, like Kingsbury Manx (remember them?) just perfected that sound, but recently, as if it has been quiet on that front (if you can call it that).

Now, in comes Brooklyn quintet Market led by one Nate Mendelsohn and his collaborators with their intricate album The Consistent Brutal Bullshit Gong full of subdued pop gems.

Mendelsohn comes from a background in experimental music but it is the intelligent left-field pop that prevails here and his collaborators, Katie Von Schleicher, Natasha Thweatt, Stephen Becker, and Duncan Standish do a brilliant job. Quite a few might remember Von Schleicher herself for some excellent solo albums, like Shitty Songs from a few years back.

Throughout the album, whether it is more contemplative songs like “Looking Back on the Spanish Civil War” or more upbeat material like “I Would Do That”, Market is able to come up with some complex and intricate changes that at no time overpower the vocal harmonies or lyrics that are meant to be digested in detail.

Intricate music for intricate times, whatever intricate means in each case.

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