Market The Consistent Brutal Bullshit Gong

The Consistent Brutal Bullshit Gong, the tongue twister of a debut title by Market lead singer-songwriter/producer Nate Mendelsohn, feels evocative of the ceaseless worrying that pounds his head. “What's the point of anxiety if it still won't go your way,” a freaked-out Mendelsohn declares on Scar, fittingly asking a question that is easier said than done over an Americana on steroids jam. It's one of the rare chaotic moments on an album that mostly finds him dwelling on listless pondering, pacing himself as he expects the next shitty circumstance to bring him down. That's not to say that Mendelsohn navigates these shifting moods in a very entertaining way—whether he, along with his Brooklyn-based bandmates, tries his hand at knotty, Devo-like post-punk (I Would Do That), gets self-referential about meeting his artistic goals over rootsy punk (Old), or wonders what it'll take from him to get better over the jangliest of melodies (26 (Therapy)). Mostly languid, yet often intricately unpredictable, this collection of moments amounts to an album that taps into his unease with touching insight.