3 out of 5

Label: Triple X / Def American

Produced by: Dave Sardy

Burbling up from the late 80s underground NY music scene, Dave Sardy’s Barkmarket combined plenty of noise and fury with plenty of avant garde skronk. This fit in well with the weird and loud crowds, but early Barkmarket was also a bit unfocused in all forms, flipping between jazzy playfulness and heavy riffage, with Sardy screaming and squeaking his way around oddball lyrics. Gimmick would essentially find this sound’s most powerful forms, streamlining also the producer / band leader’s singing and writing styles; Barkmarket was still stretched across a few genres, but they leaned into the rock and the aggression, allowing it all to be buoyed by weirdness and humor.

Vegas Throat, arriving the year before Gimmick, is a step in that direction, but still hanging on to the busyness of yore. It is a rather bipolar album as a result, landing some great riffs throughout, and almost every track consisting of amazing pieces, but only able to maintain a consistent vibe for a handful of tracks, with the runtime on the later American re-rerelease of the disc arranging tracks to better spread those consistent tunes out – opener Grinder makes a play for an L. Ron-esque, er, grind; while Fatstamp plays like a Gimmick preview, just straight up assaultive bluster; and Pitbull makes a bid for what could’ve been Vegas Throat’s own unique sound, spreading out across a more grooving, playful sense of jamming but keeping its bits and pieces cohesive.

Elsewhere, though, songs are just stuffed with ideas, the lyrics also bouncing back and forth between visuals within any given track, though at least thematically mostly centered around anti-consumerism and knocks on societal norms. This excess would be fine, except the group has no patience with it: the whole thing is non-stop, and loud as hell, Rock Savage absolutely pounding against an unfortunately tinny mastering, with John Nowlin’s bass funking the hell out of every rhythm. Atop all this, Sardy is in manic mode, babbling or shouting or talking, his guitar jumping in and out of riffs.

Magically – this stuff is still catchy, and it’s not as disjointed as I’m perhaps making it sound. It’s just that no real singles emerge, save some of the songs mentioned; it’s more just a lot of cool noise that you can tap your toe to.

Sardy’s deep but polished production and the general weirdness – this disarming blend of threat and humor; rhythm and chaos – make Vegas Throat noteworthy, but I’m glad we got to see Barkmarket evolve across some subsequent albums.