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Review Summary: Vintage music with a modern twist Suit? Check. Slicked back hair? Check. Sunglasses? Double check. This is The Computers and they would like to tell you about their interest in triangles, distaste of squares, and why disco sucks.
There are some key differences between Love Triangles Hates Squares and The Computers’ last album, This Is The Computers. The last album consisted of almost entirely harsh vocals and relied heavily on more of a hardcore punk sound (which one could probably tell just by looking at the track times since none of the songs hit over the three minute mark) with a little bluesy vibe that popped in every so often, whereas Triangles/Squares brings quite a bit more to the table stylistically. The blues and punk sounds are meshed together quite effectively (while the hardcore sound is mostly dropped) and even a bit of soulfulness come paired with the newly added (and fantastic sounding) clean vocals. The vocalist’s great tone with his cleans was a bit of a surprise, especially since they were pretty much non-existent on the previous release. The ratio of clean to harsh vocals is turned on its head, as the cleans are the dominant force this time around. “Disco Sucks” and “Selina Chinese” make the most use of harsh styled vocals, but they are never the main focus and are typically used at the beginning or end of a vocal line. This is a great direction for the band to take, especially since the previous album’s song were all fairly similar in structure, and the constant screaming got a bit stale on repeated listens. There is a lot more variety on Triangles/Squares, and it keeps the album fresh for its 35 minute run time.
The vocals are definitely a highlight here, but the bass is no slouch either. It is very active throughout the album (especially on the first three tracks and “Sex Texts”) and often is the focal point as it bounces around from section to section. The guitars usually keep it pretty simple (playing mostly rhythm based parts with a few leads here and there), and the band also makes use of a keyboard/synthesizer, which even takes center stage on a few songs (“Selina Chinese” and “Sex Texts” being prime examples) and gives the band a feeling of pop/rock music from the 60s (similar to the likes of Chuck Berry) throughout the album. From the style of music they play right down to their appearance, the band is just trying to pay a little homage to some great music of the past with their own modern twist.
The Computers have taken a more modern approach on some very popular genres of yesteryear. Combining blues, punk, some soulful vocals and even a bit of a 60s pop and rock vibe, the band has crafted a fascinating sound that is damn near flooring with its results.
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Album Rating: 4.5
Originally posted here: http://meltingalbumreviews.wordpress.com/2013/05/12/the-computers-love-triangles-hate-squares/
This just came out a a little over a week ago (April 30th) and here are the two singles they put out before the album was released:
Disco Sucks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1NfupZTZWg
Love Triangles, Hate Squares
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bdaVOAFKxg
Haven't written in a while (last October, I think) so hopefully this is a decent attempt to show how much I liked this. I'm talking about genres that I am not super familiar with, so if anything sounds off, let me know. Constructive criticism and feedback are always nice to have and welcome.
Also, the entire album is on Spotify if anyone wants to hear more.
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I don't know that I'm interested in this.
No, wait, I'm definitely interested in this.
By the by, great review!
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
lol, thanks melons.
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somebody hasn't lost it
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Woo hoo!
Thanks, buddy. I've been stuck at 13 for quite some time.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
Nice to see this reviewed on here; its well-written too, although I don't feel you really make it clear why the album's good enough to deserve a 4.5. Still, pos.
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cool band
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Thanks, mitch. I will try to do some edits and be more descriptive to why I rated it so highly. Most of my reviews are in the 3.5 - 4 range, so this is somewhat new territory for me.
cool band [2]
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this review is the balls.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Ha ha, thanks (I think?), Mancuso.
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awesome review ecnal
just a few quibbles:
The ratio of clean to harsh vocals is turned on its head, as their appearances are drastically reduced this time around
"their" is a bit ambiguous. i can figure out the antecedent is "[harsh] vocals" from context but it still disrupted the flow of my reading.
Love Triangles, Hates Squares
there's no comma in the album name, right?
in triangles, distaste of squares and why disco sucks.
i'm a firm believer in oxford commas, but that's personal taste i suppose
There is a lot more variety on Triangles/Squares and it keeps the album fresh for its 35 minute run time (which still could be considered a bit short; it is longer than the previous album’s running time).
the parenthetical statement is a bit awkwardly written. the semicolon separates two antithetical statements (the first one is saying it's short, the second saying it's long[er]) but you connect them as if one's the logical extension of the other. i'd say something like (which, though still a bit short, is longer than the previous labum's running time)
of course this is super nitpicking, this was a great review otherwise. i'm pretty interested in listening to this so i'd say you succeeded on that front
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Thanks, toxin! In regards to the comma in the album title, it depends on where you look. I have seen it show up with and without one with retailers, but it does not have one on the cover.
Edit: I just checked their website and doesn't have one on there, so I will take it out.
- So I should try to be more specific in the second half on what is 'drastically reduced.' Gotcha.
- When you say Oxford commas, do you mean using a third comma before 'and' in a list of 3 things?
- I am still working on figuring out when to use a semi colon and will get that fixed up.
Thanks again. This really took me by surprise. I got really interested after hearing the singles on youtube a while back and had been looking forward to this for a few weeks.
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Only two ratings?
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
There are 3 now. It's at least a small improvement, I guess.
THEY ARE ALL 4.5s THOUGH.
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yeah this band is cool not sure why they're not getting more attention
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Already heard a bit of hype from their first record but this has me even more intrigued, short and effective review, pos and will check this out!
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Didn't dig as much as I thought I would :/
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
That's a bummer. Its a pretty different world than their last record though. I'd say it might grow on you, but it was pretty immediate for me, so not sure on that.
Also, thanks for reading and that there pos!
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gonna jam this
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yeah, this rules. not sure how much I liked it quite yet, but it's good.
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