Playlouder - Music is the Network

Apparently Computer Club’s name is not, as you may first imagine, an “ironic nod to 80s nerd culture”. It is, rather, “a gesture of togetherness”. And the title of the album is not, as you may have been so unfortunate to assume, some kind of descriptive nod to the ugly death-throes of capitalism being experienced by the world in the first decade of the 21st century. Nay! It is in fact something far more exciting to the eager listener- their drummer… had to leave the band. And they had to get a new one.

Irony and contemporary reportage are not to be found within the strict confines of Before the Walls Came Down. Instead lurk self-absorbed angst, chiming delayed guitars, and why so serious vocals. Yep, the 80s new-wave scene has once again been plundered by a gang of furrow-browed young men who just gotta set the tedious minutiae of their lives to overblown music so it all sounds exciting and meaningful.

But unlike, say, the epic bombast of the of Editors, it's impossible to relate to this angst- to find a line that strikes a chord with your own life.  And unlike, say, the sombre broodings of Interpol, it’s not so much a thrilling darkness to be experienced here but a vaguely depressing persistant grey drizzle.

The title track is probably their best stab at things. It’s a danceable song that references “the dancefloor”, but as Computer Club are serious new-wave contender this dancefloor must be “burnt down” because “we don’t need it anymore”. It will allow those at the indie discos a way to register their discontent with the superficial shallowness of the scene while of course looking intense and desirable.

Your Enemy has that Bloc Party thing going on- a pumping disco four four beat with guitars that alternate between yearning anthemicism and jerky post-punk. Singer Paul Hampton has a similar yelp to Kele Okereke, but one that is sadly devoid of the nuances of the Bloc Party frontman. Everything is belted out or not at all.

Listen to one song on this album and you’ll instantly know if you’ll like it or not- they’re pretty much all the same. Though, having woken up this morning to the unpleasant experience of it still rotating round my head in all its incredibly predictable glory, I'd recommend that you don't.