Brutal, Blunt And Yet Breath Takingly Beautiful
William Control is nothing if not brutally frank and cringingly honest. From the instant ‘Hate Culture’ rips you by the wrists and drags you into the dark disturbing world of our guide, Control, or Aiden’s wiL Francis as he is better known, makes it blatantly clear that he does not want you to like him, that he will not sugar coat the slightest detail and that he will not apologise for anything, facts that should have you fleeing for your life but instead usher you further into the depths of despair alongside Control as you struggle to suppress the ever growing smile across your face. Yes, William Control does not want you to like him but, as the last spoken refrains of ‘Prologue’ utter their final threat drenched slur, its clear that Control is not going to get his wish.
Littered with tales of sex, suicide, hostile resentment and anguish, ‘Hate Culture’ is a synth fuelled ride through a hedonistic night with a certain William Control at the wheel, bursting with a brashly seductive brutality and pain fed honesty that is irresistible. From the chilling bluntness of ‘Prologue’ Control rips headfirst into a dance frenzy with ‘Beautiful Loser’, a smouldering mass of NIN-esque fierce synths that rage alongside Control’s anger led despair, bristling with an infectious energy that refuses to relinquish its hold. As the dance fed daze lifts, ‘Strangers’ makes its entrance, delivering a Joy Division meets Visage combination of bleakly unnerving beats neatly congealed by a lush wave of dark foreboding that is lifted only by ‘Tranquilize’s blast of synths, seeming to have stepped straight out of the 80s and latched onto Control’s chant backed track for sanctuary.
But still, even when Control unleashes his rush of invigorating dance inviting beats, ‘Hate Culture’ retains its dark allure, sticking to the brooding shroud of despair that resides seductively throughout the album, making for an addictive concoction that you can not ignore regardless of how hard you try. From ‘Razor’s Edge’ anger fuelled growls of disgust to the pleading desperation of ‘Cemetery’ through to chilling rawness of ‘Damned’ right down to the debauched depravation of ‘The Whipping Haus’, Control commands your attention with an alarming raw honesty that you can not divert yourself from until he leads you to his final destination in the form of ‘London Town’. Draped in heart wrenching sincerity, ‘London Town’ finds Control without the guile drenched fury that has resonated throughout the rest of the album, the frantic charge of synths being replaced simply by Control’s lone guitar and sorrowful violin as his mournful ode draws a veil over William Control’s exploits, leaving only a spine tingling sense of sorrow as Control’s unflinchingly truthful lyrics haunt you long after the track has ended.
Heart breaking in its truthfulness and wrapped in an addictive wash of energetic beats, dark sadness and anger drenched ruthlessness, ‘Hate Culture’ will scare and seduce in equal measures as William Control’s charm leaves you unable to resist.