The last album by Kowloon Walled City (KWC), Grievances, was six years ago and over that intervening time I occasionally wondered if the band broke up. There seemed to be precious little about them. In summer 2021 they came out with a new song and it gave me some hope that a full-length might be on the horizon. And suddenly here we are: seven songs clocking at around thirty minutes. It may not be much, but it’s certainly welcome. Unlike the bludgeoning riffs of their last album, Piecework is more about the negatives. It’s about the pauses and silences and the times they could’ve gone loud but restrained themselves. Don’t get me wrong, the vocals are still sing-shouted and the riffs are heavy. But the melodies stand out more this time around. It’s hard to find a comparison for KWC. But if you like some punishing, heavy music that can also give you some chills, here you go.–Kurt Morris (Neurot, neurotrecordings.com)