Computer: Station on the Hill

"As we become more comfortable in the digital world, our tolerance for any discomfort in the physical world seems to decrease. We stand in the corner at the party looking at our phones to avoid making small talk; we let our eyes flit between screens to smother any thought that we might otherwise have to sit with alone. If this is what we do for fun, then what does work look like?"

"If this is what we do for fun, then what does work look like? As it turns out, it's often indistinguishable. On Station on the Hill, the debut album from Vancouver noise-rock outfit Computer, alienation exists in nearly every aspect of contemporary life-work and play, it's all the same, all the time. When the world seems like too much, Computer lean into discomfort and add to the noise."

"Plenty of heavy bands address the theme of modern overstimulation, but few embody it so tangibly. "I got a new job today/With suits and shoes and socks/And everything paid/It's all been leading up to this," lead vocalist Ben Lock narrates over a noodling riff on "Weird New Vocation." His unnamed job and the material pleasures it brings him-a bigger house, "a car with four doors/and four mirrors to see myself"-are supposed to add up to a better quality of life and a stronger sense of self,"

Station on the Hill presents relentless, claustrophobic music that mirrors pervasive modern alienation. Computer combine math rock, post-punk, hardcore, and klezmer flourishes into dense arrangements that leave little breathing room. Lyrics narrate disillusionment with material comforts that fail to produce lasting self-worth. Songs shift from stoic, detached narration to violent, cathartic sonic eruptions, treating discomfort as an aesthetic device. The band accentuates overstimulation rather than soothing it, turning everyday alienation into aural intensity. Brief tenure as a band has not tempered ambition; the performances convey a voracious appetite and deliberate excess.

Read at Pitchfork