Lakeshore Records release Mark Adler's score for Merchants of Doubt. Inspired by the acclaimed book by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, the movie takes audiences on a satirically comedic, yet illuminating ride into the heart of conjuring American spin. Filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the curtain on a secretive group of highly charismatic, silver-tongued pundits-for-hire who present themselves in the media as scientific authorities - yet have the contrary aim of spreading maximum confusion about well-studied public threats ranging from toxic chemicals to climate change...

Mark Adler's score for Merchants of Doubt reflects the movie's character, in that while on the surface it seems light and comedic, dig deeper and there is a rich vein of serious content. And, once again, aping the movie's wide scope, Adler incorporates a long list of themes spanning various genres and ages. He incorporates a retro-jazz feel in some of the cues to mirror the fact that the back-story of the merchants of doubt begins in the 1950s. Likewise, to give a more tongue in cheek angle to a segment in the film that has a B-Movie-esque sci-fi sequence, he uses a cheap analog synthesizer with a little distortion to create a faux-Theremin sound ('The Skeptic' and 'Parallel Worlds').

While as a listening experience this may not be everyone's cup of tea, there's no disputing that Adler's talents are given room to flex their muscles... and it's obvious from the end result that he had a great deal of fun working on the project.

8

Darren Rea