Steven Wayne Smith, the prolific Omaha-based songwriter and producer behind the solo project KILRAVOCK, has returned with Tyranny of the Clock, a new six-song release launched on May 1 to coincide with International Workers’ Day. The EP expands on last year’s Incompatibility // Working Class Hero single, and serves as a preview of the upcoming full-length album Just Another Wonderful Day.
Rooted in themes of labor rights, worker exploitation, and neurodiversity in the workplace, the release is both timely and searing. “Who Killed Saint Monday,” inspired by anarchist George Woodcock’s essay The Tyranny of the Clock, explores the historical imposition of time discipline on laborers, setting its message to a driving, rock-forward sound. “Solidarity Forever,” a reinterpretation of the 1912 labor anthem popularized by Pete Seeger and Utah Phillips, strips the celebratory tone in favor of a somber lament for the fading power of unions.
The EP also includes remixed versions of earlier tracks and selections from Smith’s other projects, post-punk group The Alliterates and experimental outfit Lucid Fugue. Drawing from post-metal, sludge, and art rock, Tyranny of the Clock is now streaming on all major platforms.
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