Meat Market

The first time I heard Oakland based Meat Market was early this summer when they supported FIDLAR at San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill. I’m not sure what I was expecting that night, but certainly not a band whose album would soundtrack the rest of my summer. Meat Market’s self-titled cassette, and now LP, has qualities that are part lo-fi, part surf, and part stripped-down rock n’ roll.

Arguably the most addicting track is “Don’t Surf” which features the hooky refrain: “I’m from California and I don’t surf.” These kinds of simple and satisfying statements dominate most of the album’s lyrics, making the songs worthy of becoming anthems of sorts for a gal like myself, and plenty of other Californians I’m sure, who, in fact, cannot surf. The basic layered guitar riffs on this track only heighten how catchy the tune is.

A notable track is “B&E BBQ”. I’ll be honest in that I have no idea what Meat Market is singing about in this song. However, it doesn’t really matter what they’re saying, but rather the overall feeling they convey. Music isn’t always about its literal meanings, but more about how it makes you feel. “B&E BBQ” is nostalgic, a little sad, and worthy of a slow twist.

Released on Under the Gun, Meat Market’s cassette is available in limited numbers of 75 red tapes and 175 black tapes. The LP is limited to 500 copies. - Lo-Pie

Oakland’s Meat Market was formed in 2011 by a few college students in Santa Cruz just to play house parties and have a good time. They have grown into a band that has 30+ gigs already this year, even without having toured in that time.
Their self-titled album will be released on vinyl in August by LA’s Under the Gun Records, and is currently available for streaming or download from their bandcamp page. Meat Market’s songs are full of surf-rock riffs and vocal hooks and should be played loudly on a drive to the beach. Check out “Don’t Surf” above, which is kind of an appropriate surf anthem for most Northern Californians.
Meat Market plays Thee Parkside July 27 as part of a great lineup: headliners The Tambo Rays will be celebrating the release of their Kalidescope cassette. Also on the bill will be LA’s Cogito and San Francisco’s Evil Eyes, who will be playing their debut show after a great start in the studio. - The Bay Bridged

MEAT MARKET is a young band but they have already managed to make big waves in the California garage-surf scene. They recorded their new self-titled record with Brian Hamilton, of the Fleshies, at the luxurious Sugar Mountain Warehouse in sunny Oakland, California.

This is their second self-titled release. The first was a limited edition cassette released through Under the Gun Records. This new album features some of the same songs as their tape, but the new recordings sounds so different and advanced from their earlier work that it is definitely worth listening to those songs twice. The new compositions show an even greater deal of progression in the bands musical and songwriting skills.

Though I loved their cassette, it was so overloaded with re-verb that it was nearly impossible to hear the subtle nuisances in Meat Market’s songwriting that makes them a truly great band. Don’t worry though, there is still more than enough re-verb on these tracks to get the average hipster kid all sorts of wet. It’s just that now they sound like they were recording on the beach rather than underwater.

This album is fun, stony, poppy, paranoid, good for dancing, just retro enough to be cool, and modern enough to be interesting. Listen to it, buy it, and go see Meat Market next time they come to your town. - The Styrofoam Drone