Consolidated - Play More Music

Consolidated do Play More Music

Facists beware! Consolidated, San Francisco’s champions of human rights and industrial music, have released a new compilations of challenging music and ideas for the ignorant masses to consume. The new disc is called Play More Music and on it Consolidated  do just that. This new album has 27 tracks! (But for honesty’s sake, I must admit not all of them are songs.)

Following on the heels of last year’s masterpiece Friendly Fascism (which spawned the Billboard dance hits “Unity of Oppression”, “Brutal Equation” and “This is Fascism”), Consolidated once more tackle the issues which concern the violation of human rights. Their stance on these issues is clearly defined. They come on very strong on their records and even stronger live. Some find this distasteful and preachy, but I find it necessary in a society where our rights to freedom and happiness are infringed upon every day. 

Play More Music is a combination of new studio material and spoken bits and audience interaction from their last tour. Allow me to explain: When Consolidated go on tour, they don’t just play their music and leave. They turn the concert hall into an open forum regarding the issues they present. Audience members are given the freedom to grab the microphone and express their opinions on the topics at hand. Sometimes the audience members agree with Consolidated’s viewpoints, but most often than not, they violently disagree. This makes for interesting listening as Consolidated and their audience go head to head in heated arguments. Consolidated records the best soundbites from their discussions and offers bits of them on their albums. 

A good example of this kind of discussion on Play More Music is the track “The Men’s Movement”. The topic here is slam dancing. The guys in the audience (me included) love to do it. The girls in the audience, though, are getting hurt as the guys slam into them. Consolidated asks the guys to stop and that’s when the fun begins. Everyone takes turns on the mike fighting for and against slam dancing. Consolidated then added samples from wrestling show announcers and a guitar riff, and the end product is both funny and horrifying.

Some of the issues which Consolidated discusses on the album involve gun control (“Tool And Die”), gay and lesbian rights (“Accept Me For What I Am”), women’s rights (“He”), vegetarianism (“Veggie Beat Manifesto”) and racism (“Guerrillas In The Mist”) among others. 

For this album Consolidated has invited various rappers to perform with them. Rapper Paris does scorching vocals for “Guerrillas In The Mist”. Crack MC kills it on “Crackhouse”. And The Yeastie Girls are hysterical on “You Suck”. “You Suck” is basically and exhortation for men to better attend the needs of their women when it comes to cunnilingus. It is shocking and vulgar, but hilariously original. 

Musically, Consolidated have deviated significantly from their usual electronic/ industrial dance style. Several tracks on this disc feature heavy guitars and acoustic drums. The best example of this is on the track “Accept Me For What I Am”, on which Consolidated manage to sound like The Red Hot Chili Peppers. It is a surprising change, but one that is refreshing. 

The dance tracks are not gone, though. They are present and and improved greatly by the mixing work of Meat Beat Manifesto’s Jack Dangers, The first single “Tool And Die” features the Manifesto sound and has become an instant classic on the dance floor. 

Consolidated is a collection of the talents of Philip Steir, Mark Pistel, and Adam Sherburne (formerly of Until December). They formed in in 1998 and released a self-titled ep before signing with Nettwerk Records. Since then, they have released The Myth Of Rock (1990), Friendly Fascism (1991) and the new one Play More Music. Consolidated is a string and important voice which needs to be heard by society. So educate yourself and go out and get Play More Music. The mind you’ll expand will be your own.