Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Kowloon Walled City, 'Oxygen Tent'

For the past 14 years, Oakland's Kowloon Walled City has been in a constant state of deconstruction – yet "Oxygen Tent" spirals the band's grief-stricken, metallic noise-rock outward. If past records were a sludgy bummer akin to Harvey Milk, this intricate-yet-ballistic arrangement owes more to Slint and Moss Icon. Nervy riffs float like exhaust fumes, as drum fills puncture dead space and a distorted bass breaks apart a throbbing groove. When the band locks full barrel into the clobbering climax, the anxious atmosphere turns to stone.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Listen to the Viking's Choice playlist, subscribe to the newsletter.