The Computers: Love Triangles, Hate Squares

For a band with a modern name, The Computers are oddly preoccupied with the past. The sharp-suited Exeter quintet's second album is more concerned with paying homage to their idols (a smidgen of Elvis Costello's melodies here, the spiky thrust of The Cramps and The Hives there) than creating something original. That's fine on songs such as the jerky rockabilly of Bring Me the Head of a Hipster and Selina Chinese , a two-minute blast of Jerry Lee Lewis piano riffs and punk- styled guitars. Yet overall, their "soul-garage" schtick just doesn't come off as authentically as the likes of Eli "Paperboy" Reed. The main sticking point is Alex Kershaw's voice, which is too quick to slip into a full-throttle strangulated yelp, rendering these perfectly acceptable songs too patience- sapping to fully appreciate.
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Download: Disco Sucks, Love Triangles, Hate Squares