Kowloon Walled City

Kowloon Walled City, “Diabetic Feet”

This is from the first Kowloon Walled City record, Gambling on the Richter Scale, where they are bringing back that Unsane sound. There’s something about that vocal style in particular that really reminds me of that band, which is of course a good thing.

Thou, “Corrupted Sanctum”

Thou contributed some songs to a video game soundtrack, which is kind of a funny phrase. I know absolutely nothing about the game except that it’s set in New Orleans, which presumably is how Thou got involved. Anyway, always happy to get new music from them, even if it’s a strange delivery like this.

Palace Brothers, “You Will Miss Me When I Burn”

A repeat, but remains a lovely tune.

Fuck The Facts, “Shadows Collide”

Long running Canadian grindcore artists Fuck the Facts cranked out Desire Will Rot in 2015, producing an album that is interesting not just because of the stretches of blast fury, but thanks to the interludes in-between. I find grindcore more interesting when it provides those moments of contrast, it helps the crazy tempos stand out even more.

The Allstonians, “One Day”

The Allstonians produced two fantastic albums in the heart of the third wave, their self-titled record and Allston Beat. Both were fine, tuneful examples of what the third wave did well, horn driven tunes that borrowed liberally from ska history. There were a few moments when the lyrical approach was a little bit on the smug side (a common problem in the third wave), but overall, both are albums I still listen to frequently to this day. After the collapse of Moon Ska records, the Allstonians disappeared for six years, only to come back with a new record. Alas, the shine just isn’t there any more. We don’t get the fun solos, the horn playing is mostly just simple ensemble work, and the songs aren’t especially memorable.