My Computer - 'No CV' (Gut) Released 18/07/05

 

Eclecticism is a dangerous tool for the budding musician to employ: for every Bowie or Beck, effortlessly twisting existing forms to their own skewed template, there are a zillion more whose genius is woefully inadequate alongside their ambition. My Computer occasionally stray in clunky territory, but for the most part steer clear of the pitfalls. Flights of fancy are tempered by the insistent melodies which are the controlling factor in most tracks. So when the bouncy melody of ‘Dig A Hole’ is hijacked by backwards Turkish drones and vocoders, it’s only a momentary disturbance. ‘Life’ brings the focus back around to melody, this time recalling the pastoral harmonies of Elliott Smith. Meanwhile ‘The Boy I Used To Be’ follows a classical melodic pattern akin to Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ before exploding into a noise-fest which sounds like a whole showroom full of keyboards all playing their demo pieces at once.

Whilst rarely awe-inspiring, the album shows enough spark and adventurousness to suggest My Computer should keep at it. Most importantly, it sounds like they had plenty of fun making it, and aren’t hugely worried about fitting in with trends and fads. An impressive addition to anyone’s CV, in fact.