Kowloon Walled City – Turk Street
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I like noise rock. I like it because, when done right, it effortlessly gives this nice, imperfect, visceral sound. Bands like Unsane, The Jesus Lizard, Hammerhead and Fudge Tunnel treated us to the best of these sounds in the early ‘90s. Sounds that begged to be heard live, sounds that made you wonder what live act could possibly accompany it. It felt grimy and tangible. Like all genres of music, as time progressed, more outside influences were woven in, things either got more punk, or more metal. They got weirder and heavier. Bands like Harvey Milk and Wetnurse rose to the surface and turned music on it’s ear once more. These are the type of bands, that when you bring them to the counter of the mom and pop record store, you get a wink from the clerk who knows everything because they know that you guys are part of the same club.
San Francisco, CA’s Kowloon Walled City is another extension from noise rock. Fittingly named after a densely populated, lawless section of Hong Kong, KWC is a band that you immediately know you have to see in a small, intimate, live setting. They’re heavy as hell, but they’re not metal. There’s a punk quality to them, but you get the feeling that image doesn’t have a whole lot to do with it. Turk Street came out in 2008, but has been recently re-released on Howling Mine Records. The album hasn’t evolved entirely too much since KWC’s first album, Gambling On The Richter Scale. The riffs are catchy and memorable and the drums apply a really nice groove that makes the sounds a little more unique. The production is something else that really puts Turk Street head shoulders above so many of these bands doing post-something or another. The production is good and loud but it’s also really clear which ironically makes the grime more apparent. It really makes the record have it’s own sound and stand out.
I always think that noise rock is the sound of an exciting night. Drinks and bright lights blur together in an urban city with a slightly seedy underbelly and there’s the looming possibility that someone might end up in jail. Kowloon Walled City have that sound down pat and I look forward to their future.
