New Orthodox Bull Market on Corn

On Bull Market on Corn, New Orthodox (Nicholas Merz) makes music that responds to the American expanse with plain-spoken thought. The pedal steel player's songs paint pictures of the fractured ideologies that shape life in this country through the melodic haze of his instrument, the comedy of his lyrics, and the surreal choreography that accompanies his performances. The music is both personal and grand, intimate and vast, taking the tools of country and transforming them into his own spun-out sound.Bull Market on Corn marks Merz' debut under the moniker New Orthodox, but represents a continuation of many of the themes that have colored his songwriting and his personal relationship to the pedal steel through his father, who also played. The album was recorded with Steve Albini, whose musical output, principled ethic, and honest production served as an early inspiration for Merz. It also offers a deep exploration of the rich sound and history of the pedal steel, taking the tradition of country music and abstracting it. Each of these songs takes on a different fragment of the American experience, traversing both the personal and political. It is vast territory to cover, but Merz's work is in connecting the dots through the bellowing drone and long tail of history of his pedal steel, using the instrument to tell the story of the present through the lens of the past.