Somewhere between the constant push for A.I. music and the stress of minimum wage not rising with inflation, you lost the childhood dream of wanting to make money off music, didn’t you? The truth is you’re not alone in the disillusion. And yet the kicker is things can always get much worse. Sludge City, a heavy synthpunk album created by Dayton, Ohio-based band Cacophony Kid, is a project you will feel tempted to say takes place in a dystopian future where art doesn’t get made because people are busy killing themselves trying to make rent and carving out a comfortable living. Unfortunately, ask anyone who isn’t rich or powerful and they’ll say this feels like America’s end goal.
The explosive nightmarish “Welcome to Sludge City” may as well be a Parts & Labor-sized IMAX screen showing rats snacking on what is left of food, the homeless turning into bones while still wearing cuffs as policemen try to take them away, and not a single smiling face in the city. You wouldn’t be blamed if, in the scenario of the album, you have a case of both depression and paranoia due to what the world has become. When Cacophony Kid utters “I need some fucking money,” on “Drowning in the Swamp,” there is no promise wheels aren’t turning to shank someone for a decent box of Cheerios to eat in the morning. “What am I supposed to do with ten dollars an hour?” sneers Cacophony Kid underneath a blast of synth bass. “Abuse the workers, pay yourselves, no one gives a fuck! Who cares?” So, how does one deal with the worst of it all? On the one-minute, 8-bit punk track “Analog Horrors,” the only other way is to turn to doom scrolling. No one said it is a healthy way to go, but the point is that it is a way.
Yet, the album’s darkest part, despite what “Analog Horrors” might suggest, is how real life seeps into your dreams. “You Can’t Feed Your Family With Square Waves,” featuring Maryland singer-songwriter the losing team, mimics the melody of scary clowns as lyrics about the realization of working for less than possible cycle throughout the song like a terror anthem. But you shouldn’t think the entire album is a downer.
After all, the rousing manifesto “Rats in the Sewer,” joined by New York nintendocore band Ultra Deluxe, gives a little bit of hope with plans to “burn it down together and build something unique.” While it wouldn’t be bad to imagine songs like this being a crowd energizer, you still have the pulsating closer. Through the synthetic thumps of “Goodbye All…,” Cacophony Kid offers what seems like a hopeful message of positivity in the face of stress and systematic horror—that is until the second more instrumental half of the song, which feels like either two things: a powerful credit roll to a dynamic album or a rude awakening back to a punishing world whereas “okay” as you may feel, you still need to go out and get some fucking money.
Sludge City is a concept album that leaves you interpreting how it goes. Are the dream sequences real or just sequences where you are forced to work without enough sleep? Is it a salve for those trying to live in a world of extreme capitalism or a frightening cycle between hope and hopelessness? Your perspective is yours. But one thing is for sure, Sludge City is an album that anyone who feels down and out can use. Whether they can use it as an escape—that’s a different story.
