Proper professional drinking is an art form that often comes with expected and unexpected consequences. An expected consequence would be something like arrest and imprisonment or perhaps a cold park bench. An unexpected consequence would be understanding Wirtschaftskammer’s self-titled album.
This album isn’t an easy listen and, for anyone without a beard to scratch, the Wirtschaftskammer habit of redirecting their songs into random back alleys of musical derailment might well irritate. That said, you can sense a plan – a most cunning plan at that – to assault you with enough angular and arthouse sensibilities to stun your conventionally programmed ears. This is courageous for this freeform approach will likely polarise your viewpoint of this downright bipolar album with the rambling avant garde of “Schluesseldienst” crashing deliberately into both the short sharp shock of “Zementohr” and the looped, and loopy, “Steuerberater” like it was, somehow, meant to be. Maybe there is something in the water in Austria that causes bands to take a walk on the wild side with their musical misadventures but I can’t really criticise Wirtschaftskammer for failing to conform and instead walking down the road of downright quirkiness.
Wait. That black cat knows my name. How is that even possible?
Best song? “Kaufkraft” – Lou Reed loses the plot in downtown Vienna.
Verdict? Oddball but definitely interesting.