Ball of Wax 68 Songs: Sound Madrona – “I Am Filled with Hate”

Sounds Madrona‘s “I Am Filled with Hate,” while not nearly as brutal and unforgiving as you might expect of a song with that title, contains a through-line of darkness that can’t be denied. The ping-ponging beat that starts us off has an almost relaxed, trancelike feel to it, but once you’ve been lulled into a false sense of security, a buzzsaw of low-end synth drives home the central theme. Occasionally the bass steps aside for new percussive and/or melodic elements, but it’s never far away. The primary sonic elements – electronic drums, bells, and that snarling, insistent bass – swap back and forth and layer in various combinations to create an ever-shifting, propulsive work that wouldn’t sound out of place should it end up on the soundtrack of a Lynch or Cronenberg film. I know I’ll be cranking this tune on my next late-night drive to fulfill some unholy obligation or other, which I’m sure is just as the artist intended.