REVIEW: Consolidated, Business of Punishment (London)
- Martin Bate
This is Consolidated's fourth full length album, and their first for a major. Given Consolidated's left-wing politics, the latter fact will no doubt upset several long term fans. Jeez......just wait till they hear the music!
This is a far more focused album in terms of style and mood than its eclectic predecessor Play More Music. So while it sounds more 'mature' (shades of singer Adam Sherbourne's Childman solo-project creep in) it's also not quite as exciting as before. The humour is not so evident (how people could listen to the last album and still call them po-faced I don't know!) and there is little evidence of the adrenaline overload that characterised songs such "Tool and Die". On the plus side however, the album hangs together better and never reaches the lows of some of the more indulgent, all-message, no-song, stuff on the last album and so things even out to make it another 'good album'.
Style? We're talking equal parts rock, rap (although they tend to keep those separate) and industrial noise, beats and samples. In addition, there's a sizeable 70's funk influence in the pimp keyboards and wah-wah guitar that crop up in several songs, and bits of jazz and blues make an appearance in the mix.
Lyrically, it's more or less business as usual. They've turned away from some of the more well-worn topics such as racism and homophobia and instead take a look at issues such as prostitution, pornography, abortion rights ("If you've memorised your civil rights don't forget one - If you don't want an abortion don't *get* one!"), AIDS, the US penal system, record company manipulation, the 90's 'alternative' music culture, the list goes on. They were recently kicked off House of Pain's European tour after a grand total of one night (!) for being "too political" - so don't come in here expecting shallow rhetoric on the PC holy trinity of racism, sexism & homophobia. Consolidated aim to tell the average person something they *don't* know!
They've dispensed with the monologues and rants - almost everything here is a *song*. Which means that while they're more accessible - in the current music and political climate, I see no reason why the MTV generation shouldn't take this album and its messages into their homes and hearts - they've lost a little bit of what many people regarded made Consolidated Consolidated.
But overall, recommended.
