William Control

William Control

Hate Culture

[3.5/5]

This year, the girl who Aiden frontman Wil Francis was going to marry left him, strife within his band took its toll and most importantly, he was completely over the contemporary punk scene. Dubbing himself William Control, Francis and engineer Kenny Fletcher holed up together in the woods of Washington to create Hate Culture, a disc firmly ensconced in the electronic-rock realm. With a nod to Depeche Mode’s melodic gifts, Marilyn Manson’s vocal style and the underground pulsings of such electronic “death-pop” stylists as VNV Nation and Apoptygma Berzerk, Francis has created a disc that leaves his punk trappings behind for goth-club immersion.

Francis throws lots of curve balls on Hate Culture, from the Wax Trax-esque new-wave undercurrents of “Beautiful Loser” to the textured sequencer lines on “Don’t Cry For Me,” slightly reminiscent of Aphex Twin’s “Xtal.” “Strangers” recalls such ’80s footnotes as Camouflage and Alphaville, during a trip to the Depeche Mode songbook. The closing “London Town” is Francis on an acoustic guitar musing on what could’ve been, but lest you think he’s going to leave on a melancholy note, you’re treated to a real 9-1-1 call placed by a woman about to be murdered. William Control has the vibe and vision to be worshiped and adored by rivetheads all over the globe who are currently rockin’ torn Project Pitchfork shirts and making Side-Line.com their homepage. (VICTORY) Jason Pettigrew

ROCKS LIKE:

Apoptygma Berzerk’s Harmonizer

Clan Of Xymox’s Notes From The Underground

Deadsy’s Commencement

IN-STORE SESSION WITH WIL FRANCIS

William Control was born out of frustration in your personal life, but you have admitted to feeling disillusionment with the current punk-rock climate. I know you’re not a fan of Christianity and its increasing role in today’s scene.

Oh, yeah. A lot of these bands that are out there would’ve voted for Bush in the ’04 election, given the opportunity. They probably did. When did punk rock turn republican? I made the record during a total meltdown in my life. There’s no message, no hope; [it’s] just me going, “Fuck everything.” There’s no doobie to smoke or line to sniff to cover up the pain. It was either hang myself or make a record. [Laughs.]

Despite your claims that this record was going to be a hateful release of emotion for you, the lyrics are really tempered, except maybe “Beautiful Loser.” It’s not like you’re using the c-word to describe your ex, Christians or politicians. Was it a conscientious thing for you to articulate your rage properly?

Anybody can say, “Fuck you, fuck life, fuck death, kill yourself and die.” I didn’t have a sense on how to make the record; I literally wrote the lyrics in the studio as I was recording them. I didn’t think too much about it. I just tried to be as free as possible.

Aiden dabbled in keyboards and electronics on last year’s Conviction. Is Hate Culture a continuation of that?

I wouldn’t say “continuation.” I wanted to get away from the straightforward guitar-bass-drums-vocals thing. With this album, I tried to put myself in the mindset of “What would New Order do? What would Depeche Mode do?” There’s guitar and bass on the album, but I wanted to use as little [of those instruments] as possible, but still make a song that rocks. The idea was to do everything I did on Conviction and switch it.

Will Aiden become more electronic in the future?

I don’t think so. I’ve written 15 new songs for the next Aiden album, and I’ve got three more months to go. [The new songs] I’ve written are straight-up, fuckin’ fast, pissed, angry punk. When singers go do their own things, it’s like, “Well, why don’t you put that on the next Tool album, instead of calling it A Perfect Circle.” I want to keep this totally separate.

The electronic death-pop scene is in need of some fresh blood. If Hate Culture takes off in a big way, could you see yourself adjourning Aiden and being in Control, full time?

I don’t know what the future holds. If you were to tell me five years ago that I will have been to England 20 times and I’d traveled the world, I would’ve said you were fucking nuts. I work in a snowboard factory and eat bagels every day. [Laughs.] I just want to play music. Music is the only thing in my life that’s never turned its back on me and was there for me when I was feeling blue. Always. [JP]

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