When you first hit the play button to listen to this album you quickly become confused, “did I just buy the new EDITORS album by accident?” well, no you didn’t. However, Paul Hampton’s vocals sound very similar to the aforesaid band’s front man but this is no bad thing. EDITORS have gone on to huge success with a handful of hits; so technically COMPUTERCLUB should go on to rule the world with this piece of genius. Being a band of this styling is a very tough job, vocals must continue to be encapsulating and genuine whereas lesser singers would leave people yawning, and musically, drums and guitars have to chirp and drone to stay memorable instead of sounding like something my mother has produced. To put it simply I believe that COMPUTERCLUB have nailed it, their debut album is something special.

Reading up on the band I found out that COMPUTERCLUB recently lost their friend/drummer due to injury and had to replace him, their loss and mood was shown throughout this album, Paul explains that “The songs aren’t as poppy. It’s not that they tell the story of what was going on within the band, but they pertain to the mood of the times.” When listening to the album the listener must feel that these guys have stepped it up a level because this music is a step above a lot of the things in the charts at the moment. For example, what are SCOUTING FOR GIRLS doing in today’s music scene – does music need to be so commercial and simple? COMPUTERCLUB aren’t like that and so I don’t know if they will really fit in. It would be ambitious to say that they are the new RADIOHEAD, but it’s intriguing to wonder whether the next RADIOHEAD could actually be found today when at the moment all people are looking for are good looks and repetitive choruses.

It’s a tough choice to pick out the best songs on the album because all of them are good, so I’ll recommend a couple for your ears, there is the enthralling opener ‘Glorious’, the brilliant ‘Reykjavik’ and the climatic ‘Turn The Lights Out’, and finally their debut single ‘Before The Walls Came Down’ which truly speaks for itself. In conclusion, please buy this album as you won’t regret it. It’s so great to come across a new band with such depth and talent. If computerclub don’t go onto great success, I, for one, will be very disappointed.

Rating 4.6/5.0
Review by Alex Duncalf

Release Date: 3rd November 2008