I had read somewhere that Kowloon Walled City‘s new album, Grievances, is a concept album about office culture, workplace conflict and the rat race. You get a bit of a sense of that in the lyrics, but had I not been alerted beforehand, I probably wouldn’t have picked up on it—post-sludge often tends to be cryptic, and its songs rarely lyric-driven.
The same press release lauded this as being a softer, more accessible Kowloon Walled City. Their last album, Container Ships, reminded me of Neurosis and the Melvins, so I’m not surprised to see they’ve signed to Neurot. Musically, Grievances begins with the loud airing of “Your Best Years,” which hits pretty heavy with some pounding post-sludge riffage. The title track takes a similar tact, albeit with some big, crunchy bass featuring prominently. The repeated refrain of “Celebrate” sticks with you… What can it possibly mean?
After a few songs, the pace is pretty much set as plodding post-sludge, with very little in the way of tempo changes. I take it these guys have never worked in a fast-paced office environment. 😉
(Kowloon Walled City – Twitter)
(Kowloon Walled City – Bandcamp)
