Every now and again, there's an album; a gem that goes completely under the radar. A sleeper, that once heard makes one question "How did I Miss This?" While I don't think this is the case for Silicon's debut album, Personal Computer is still noteworthy in a lot of ways. Crafted by Kody Nielsen, brother of Ruben Nielsen of the well recognized Unknown Mortal Orchestra, this album converges ever so gently at the precipice of ambient electronic, dance and R&B. To add to his sonic credit, Kody co-wrote and produced the latest effort from UMO, Multi-Love, but it's no indication of the musical characteristic of his breakout project.
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/199975851" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /]
In its opening and closing tracks, Personal Computer feels like an ad from a future where Hal9000 or some sentient intelligence similar to it, has made it into every home. "Never be lonely – personal computer. Someone that's listening – personal computer", says the artificial intelligence, eerily, at the start of the record. Although the album is dance oriented through and through, aurally there's a stark contrast to the general concept of the album. It is a commentary on humanity's current symbiotic relationship with technology and our necessity for it. Interestingly enough, this theme drives the album more so than the music itself.
The two stand out tracks (which also happen to be the singles) "God Emoji" and "Burning Sugar" fall right in the center of this short effort. Taking a closer look at the album overall, maybe it was made to be a quick listen to suit the short attention spans that plague today's tech absorbed society. Nonetheless it's worth a listen.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlHbKJhp1cQ[/youtube]
