SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: COMPUTERWIFE – BORN FROM A WISH

COMPUTERWIFE
BORN FROM A WISH
DANGER COLLECTIVE RECORDS

If you’ve listened to music for as long as the Spill team has, chances are that you’ve come across at least one song or album that refuses to be understood or labeled.

Known for a discography that fits that exact description, New York music machine Computerwife (aka Addie Warncke) has dropped her newest record, Born from a Wish. Her most experimental project to date, it’s chaotic and methodical at the same time, exploring alt-rock, punk, hyperpop, and everything in between, leading to a rich album that both satisfies longtime fans and intrigues new listeners.

Warncke’s examinations with tempo are prominent in this record, especially in “Nobody,” “Pretty Ugly,” and “Hammered.” At the beginning of “Nobody,” a guitar echoes, subtly sharp cymbals hiss through the speakers, and a chilling drum pounds. After a minute of this quiet but heart-stopping harmony, an explosion of riffs and beats fills the eardrums. “Pretty Ugly” starts with raw, lyrical chaos, and the music’s immediate pace slows down to clear, simmering guitar strums and faint, muffled voices. In “Hammered,” the tunes are so feverish that they mimic the feeling of intoxication: scattering all over the place, unable to pinpoint a specific direction.

“Oh no I threw up” has a steadier tempo compared to “Hammered,” but it maintains the same drunken energy. Here, Warncke sings along to dizzying bass solos, a musical combo that emulates a turning stomach after a heavy drinking session.

If you want a shoegaze-and-hyperpop-style track that soars faster than a shooting star, “Normal” is a slight, nostalgic reminder of the Nightcore trend that reigned over the 2000s Internet.

Even though “Honey,” “Foreverrr,” “Thank You” and “Surreal” aren’t as experimental as the previous songs, they still show Computerwife’s understanding of various music styles. “Honey” sounds exactly how it tastes: a sweet, smooth, luscious mix of alt rock, while “Foreverrr” and “Thank You” mix the genre with shoegaze, containing both billowing and shallow guitar riffs. “Surreal” possesses the exact sensation as its track title, sending the listener into a post-punk fever dream.

What’s particularly strategic in this album is the contrast between “Autopsy” and “You Didn’t Know.” In the former piece, Warncke muses about communication, and the track soon ends with distorted birdsong and a sparkling keyboard. However, “You Didn’t Know” sleepily ends the record, saying, “Okay, the fun’s over, and I’m tired.” It’s a painful caffeine crash or a throbbing hangover from the album’s initial fervor, as Warncke chants in a drowsy, mumbling tone.

One especially important detail is that, in most of Computerwife’s songs, the instrumentation hides much of her voice, making her lyrics hard to decipher. It’s as though she were trapped behind a static-filled screen, as if she were trying to break through all the noise yet simultaneously finding comfort in the pixelated mess.

As a result of its unpredictability, Born from a Wish explodes into a million pieces but somehow lands into an intricate mandala of prolific music.

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