‘I Want To Hate You’ strolls in with attitude from its audial onslaught onset. It has boundless energy that bubbles into explosive bursts or pure emotion. Musically it’s a whirlwind, vocally it’s a firework show, then sitting pretty in the middle of the track is this raw and pure jazzy little piano break that just jets it into another stratosphere.
Lyrically the song plays around with the idea of not being able to fully commit to the cathartic hate at the end of a relationship. It explores the topic fairly poetically, it might be a story we’ve heard before but never like this. The lyrics are fuelled by an amazingly passionate and powerful vocal performance that retains the raw aggression of punk alongside the more melodic belt of prog rock or metal.
The song begins with the call of a wiggling little riff that drags the listener into the surf of the larger sound to be consumed by the staggering force of the tide. Sonically it builds on itself until it reaches a fevered pitch, it subsides a little to welcome in the warmth of the vocals before it coalesces again in the chorus in an all out moshpit.
Tune in to the Wrestlemania chokeslam through a table level of force being wreaked upon the drum set to get a taste of just how ridiculously turbo charged this band would be to see live. The rhythm leads the charge as the band all come together with a riotous energy to produce this apocalyptic soundscape. It’s an assault on the ears that leaves you feeling electrically charged, sitting in your chair, panting, heart pumping, starry eyed.
It’s as skilfully tight as it momentously huge in sound and at its heart is a band with a great deal of talent and drive.
And then it shifts into overdrive.
At around the 2:00 minute mark the song crashes against a wall and from the wreckage of the sound the ghost of a nameless jazz legend rises to build a piano out of the rubble and unleash an ungodly little break that will stick in the memory of all those present to bear witness. It’s unexpected, it’s gorgeous, it’s sheer unholy filth and we love it.
From there we are on a rollercoaster ride to the finish of the track. The final explosive refrain takes it up a notch again in terms of energy and passion, a feat which until you heard it many might have thought impossible, head having already being rammed rigid against the ceiling crowd surfing on the previous raucous spikes.
The highest praise I can possibly give is that on first listen as soon as the track finished, I immediately queued it up for another spin. This is definitely a band to watch, preferably live from the sheer fucking noise of it, and we can’t wait.
Words by Matt Miles
