A Thousand Mad Things – ‘Hate It’ Review

What does A Thousand Mad Things sound like?

Dark synth-pop wading through the best of ’80s melancholy.

The review of ‘Hate It’ by A Thousand Mad Things

We love sad pop, especially when it comes wrapped up in 1980’s New Romantic drama and a garden shed of synths. William Barradale, the artist behind A Thousand Mad Things, states on their profile that they are an ’80s nerd, and you can hear it in every beat of the bar. If you love the production of synth and electronic music from the ’80s, and the cinematic drama of gay abandon whilst staring incredibly sadly into a camera wearing your goth boy heart on your sleeve… then this is for you.

‘Hate It’ is the second EP from Barradale, following his debut from October last year. It brings five new tracks into the fold, each with their own distinct identity and tension. ‘Promises’ opens with a chugging swing beat that you rarely hear in a pop song these days. It’s paired with a purposefully clumsy synth that stamps its melody out like it’s tippytoeing in clogs. Whilst the track is entirely serious, that swing beat and synth combo makes the verses sound a little circus-freakish and comedic. The choruses bring back the burning torch of torture with William’s dramatic stone-cold barks. “Hurt me one, hurt me twice, I will never be that nice again” is just one of the choruses that unleash declarations of lines drawn. It’s a great, unusual opener.

‘Remorse’ is far more club-focused. It has a strong beat and an ethereal, almost Annie Lennox-sounding siren call that becomes part of the song’s main motif. The retro keyboards and lyrics and love-gone-wrong look are aimed squarely at being an anthem, but the rest of the song’s production doesn’t have the same memo. Instead, the track has barely any bass. The synth piano lets dramatic single bass notes ring out, but that’s all there is. The rest of the mid and higher register instrumentation takes over, meaning the song glides rather than stomps. It has more in common with an ethereal fire dance than a club track sonically, so it may take a few listens to get into its flow. Once it clicks, you’ll be smoothly bending your body to its sleek curves, though. ‘Truth You Seek’ is more percussive, and its dual vocals allow its questioning lyrics to hit harder. The chord progressions are gothic and cinematic. There is a music video idea conjured in my mind of William wandering around a castle in a giant cloak, looking pained and solemn, whenever I listen to this track. The percussive, aggressive, and pointed nature of the instruments and the vocals make this a visceral darkwave track.

The only four-minute track is ‘Empty Part of Me’, and it’s the most darkwave track of the album. Grizzly, pulsating basslines, twisted, unusual chord structures to let melodies drift into uncomfortable conclusions, and a falsetto chorus deliver that place a juicy cherry on top of the choruses. The bridge reprises the chorus with a fun synth-organ as if to poke fun at the sad-vampire trope, yet it works to elevate the track to a grand finale. The title track ‘Hate It ‘ closes the EP. This is the closest to Marc Almond and mildly sleazy that A Thousand Mad Things sounds. The vocals, synths, and some percussion have a dry filter to make the crackle and sound bleached out in desert heat. Its catchy riffs let you dance into oblivion with it, and I think this has club remix classic written all over it.

One thing that pops out in every single track is the duality of William Barradale’s voice. Part of the theatre is hearing him switch from disembodied, bellows that sound quite monotonous and disenchanted, into either powerful roars of emotion or creative, emotive falsettos. He has a voice that flips in an instant, and very few artists can command such undivided attention as William does. That’s what makes each song from A Thousand Mad Things so impactful. The songs are well crafted, with intentional oddities ready to take you into unusual territories, but they’ll always land you back in a hook or safe space to gather your thoughts for the next round. ‘Hate It’ is a superb introduction to an upcoming great of dark wave and dark synth-pop music. I can’t wait to hear where we’re taken to next.

Recommended track: Hate It

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