Pretty Addicted - Mock
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Pretty Addicted has never sounded particularly interested in behaving itself. With ‘MOCK’, Vicious takes that attitude several steps further, dragging the listener into a twisted electronic cathedral where black metal, industrial noise and dark synths collide with the sound of a congregation that has completely lost its fucking mind.
Following the recently released ‘ROT’, ‘MOCK’ is the second glimpse into Pretty Addicted’s new "Blackened Chapter" — and it’s a magnificent change of direction. Where ‘ROT’ crawled through the darkness, ‘MOCK’ walks straight into the fire.
The track opens like some corrupted religious ceremony before the bass starts wriggling underneath everything, a filthy little earworm that refuses to sit still. Then the drums arrive with all the subtlety of a collapsing building, pushing the whole thing forward with a brutal, almost physical force. Over the top comes Vicious’ extraordinary vocal arrangement: part demonic growl, part sinister angelic choir, part congregation from the darkest church you could possibly imagine.It’s heavy. Properly heavy.
But what makes ‘MOCK’ particularly effective is that Pretty Addicted isn’t simply throwing metal riffs and industrial electronics into a blender and hoping for the best. There is a very deliberate theatricality here. The song feels constructed as a twisted mirror image of religious worship music, borrowing the atmosphere, repetition and grandeur of a church service and dragging it somewhere considerably less holy. And then there are the lyrics.
Vicious uses the Bible itself as ammunition, turning its own scriptures back on the belief system she grew up inside. Having spent her formative years immersed in evangelical Christianity before eventually walking away, the track carries something considerably more personal than simple shock value. This is not provocation for provocation’s sake. It sounds like someone finally getting to speak after years of being told what they were supposed to believe.
There’s anger here, certainly, but also something cathartic. The song feels like an exorcism conducted with synthesizers, distorted vocals and a bassline that sounds like it has developed its own evil agenda. It’s confrontational without becoming musically one-dimensional, and the production gives every element room to make its presence felt.
The vocal harmonies are particularly brilliant. One moment they sound almost heavenly; the next they’re snarling from somewhere underneath the floorboards. That contrast gives the track its identity. Pretty Addicted has created something that could almost pass for a worship song if worship songs were written by people who had spent the night listening to black metal and industrial techno while setting fire to the hymn books. And that is precisely why it works.
‘MOCK’ is theatrical, aggressive, weird, funny in places and completely committed to its own twisted universe. It doesn’t politely knock on the door of conventional songwriting. It kicks the door off its hinges, walks into the church and starts rewriting the sermon.
There’s also something wonderfully punk about the whole thing. Apparently the song has already run into trouble with its distribution service, with the release reportedly being blocked over its content. If anything, that feels entirely appropriate. Pretty Addicted has produced a song about challenging imposed belief systems and immediately found itself being told what it can and cannot release.
For anyone who has ever felt alienated by organised religion, ‘MOCK’ could land as a cathartic release. For anyone simply looking for something dark, heavy and genuinely different, it works just as well. And for anyone who considers themselves particularly devout? Well, maybe don't play it at Sunday school!
With the new album still some distance away, ‘MOCK’ is a seriously promising second chapter. Pretty Addicted is building a world where electronic music, extreme metal, performance art and personal rebellion can exist in the same room without cancelling each other out. ‘MOCK’ isn’t polite, safe or particularly interested in your approval. Thank fuck for that.
For more information: Pretty Addicted
Comments