Review Summary: Daddy finally got the belt, and I'm lovin' it.
Dear God what a truly amazing train wreck. One does not simply talk about Whitehouse without talking about its most critically acclaimed and beloved album
Erector. Not just one of the most important Power Electronics records of all time, not just one of the most important Noise records of all time, one of the most important records of all time, period. I stand by that belief.
NOTE: A lot of people have a problem with my "Track by Track" analysis. While I will change for other reviews, Most of Whitehouse's albums have very few tracks, so i think it is permissible in this regard.
Starting off on side one it is clear that Whitehouse has gone a different road. Foregoing the hard hitting power of
Birthdeath Experience, and ditching the Psychedelic softness of
Total Sex;
Erector starts us off with
Erector, an ear numbing track with pounding base.
Erector absolutely blasts you endlessly for a period of 5 minutes before having the last two divulge into screeching by our one and only William Bennett. We then finish side one with
shitfun, which wastes no time in continuing the pounding base but adding a piercing scratch over the whole song. The cool thing about
shitfun is how almost unlistenable it is, with me fighting tooth and nail just to keep listening to it. I always tend to "Challenge Accept" Whitehouse after hearing William describe his music as his attempt to "Bludgeon the listener into submission". So I tend to try and prove that he can't do that to me. Fortunately, he did.
As we enter side two we are confronted with a different track known as
Socratisation Day. This track goes from the ears to the brain, with most of his dial-up scratching traveling to my head as I listen on my headphones.
Socratisation Day can be considered the pallet cleanser after the absolute beating that is
shitfun, with
Socratisation Day having a more euphoric sound to it. We finish the album off with
Avisodomy which also follows the sound of
Socratisation Day but more or less takes on a more organic sound. The soft base at the beginning slowly inches itself along with the scratching hiss, causing me to feel the pump throughout my entire body. It's as if William knows how my body is reacting, and is guiding his sound to mimic my own body in a way, slowly dissecting me like a mad scientist to his kidnapped human guinea pig.
Erector isn't just an album, it is a symbol, a sign that proved that Power Electronics was not just a weird "fad" that would die as soon as Noise got its bearings back together.
Erector was the album that cemented William's place in the industry, and established the psychotically lovable fanbase that would dedicate themselves to his records for years to come.
Erector changed how we all view music and we would never be the same again.
