Kilravock’s musical debut is hairy, gritty, and intense. A 2-song single consisting of an original performed in its entirety by Kilravock accompanied by a cover of John Lennon’s classic, ‘Working Class Hero’. An introduction into a musical identity that seems baffling at first but doesn’t take long to evolve into a strangely warm affinity toward noise rock and shoegaze.
Based in Omaha, Nebraska, Kilravock is the stage name of musician, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Steven Wayne Smith, and this debut, 2-part single of his is the first in a number of songs that are to drop in his upcoming studio album Just Another Wonderful Day. The music of Kilravock is heavy-handed. Witnessed on both the original ‘Incompatibility’ and on his cover of the gentle acoustic ballad by Lennon, it is easy to see Kilravock’s tendencies for noise and brashness on both sides of the spectrum.
‘Incompatibility’ is defined by a certain lo-fi sheen to its production. A drum line that walks messily along rather than with a steady gait, guitar riffs that are distorted and charmingly sloppy, vocals that are gritty and growly, and a composition that’s dark and claustrophobic. All until the second half of the song erupts with a cacophonous guitar solo that’s laden with a river of reverb and miles of charisma, driving the song along until its hypnotic conclusion with repeats of the main riff before the drum line starts to disintegrate into a wall of feedback from the hundred or so instrumental lines that were buried in the juicy mix. The cover of the folk classic features a massive acoustic guitar and a dozen vocal layers that make the song more of a rebels’ chant. The vocals were provided by Sean Soucy, Anna Schmidt, and David Dick.
Kilravock’s debut is promising. A bold and different sound is provided by a guy that seems to just be having a blast doing so.
