If you are curious as to what the title of this review means, check out:
(also curse the max character count for the title, I had to get rid of spaces)
Album: Her Computerized Machinery Complex
Artist: Lily Piette
Release Date: April 4, 2024
Genre: #Indie #Alternative
Sub-Genres: #IndieRock #AlternativeRock #ExperimentalRock
Non-Airable Tracks: Coloring Book, Sister!
Description:
Her Computerized Machinery Complex is my new top album of the year!! At this very moment I have listened to each of the songs at least 10 times each and each song sounds just as great every single listen. Every song on this album slaps, and I don’t say this for many albums, so take this to heart. This is Lily Piette’s debut album, and if the future albums will be like Her Computerized Machinery Complex then I can’t wait.
This album art is like if those I spy books from my childhood were on steroids and shrooms, and instead of little figurines it was computers and heavy machinery. If that makes any sense. It also reminds me of AI art a little, in the way that none of it seems to have any reason and everything just meshes together in a weird way. I could probably write a whole page on the content of this album’s website, but I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone else. It is quite the experience. Go check out the website, Lily Piette put a lot of work into it and everything from the visuals to the sounds were made by them.
Her Computerized Machinery Complex consists of 9 songs, 3 of which were previously released as singles. “Mordor” was released in May 2023 and is the song that introduced me to Lily Piette, and ever since then, I have listened to every release. The next single released was “Sister!” in November 2023, and then “Coloring Book” in February 2024. This album is relatively short at around 22 minutes, which is probably why I have listened to it so much already. This album could be split into two different sounds, that of whispered vocals and dreamy instrumentals like those heard in “Manbird” and “Child”, and punchy indie rock like in “Sister!” and “Polly Pocket”.
Probably the most interesting song is “Coloring Book” where the first half is gentle and comforting, then like out of nowhere it’s like you are transported and all this info is being force fed to you. If you are wondering what info is being transmitted directly to your brain, that would be:
Super complex authorizations have been accepted by the imperial math lord conducting research based on immense figures sprouting out of the understanding of equations ranging from simple times tables to the construction of quantum computing, I mean these sorts of methodologies aren’t as multi-faceted as it seems. I met a dream lord who took 456,598 equations, added them all together until the ultimate outcome led to regenerative AI calculations, in which robots have souls, computers get sad, space isn’t real, marketing is false, and symbiotic relationships become clearer to our hearts and machine lovers get rewarded with syntax and verbal appreciations and s*x.
And all of that is said in roughly 27 seconds with extraterrestrial sounds, blaring alarms, and either a man yelling “ahh!” or laughing, all layered on top of one another. Then it just resumes back to how the song was at the start. This little excerpt is like the most blatant example of what this album is about. It is supposed to be overwhelming and unsettling, and it surely does that.
In “Polly Pocket” there is a car crash sound and a woman’s scream in the background, which definitely add to the unsettling aspect. This happens during these lyrics:
You were such a polly girl
I like your braided hair
I found you inside the road
Blood was everywhere
Then it switches back to the chorus. The lyrics “Polly pocket in” are repeated throughout the song and have been cemented into my head, just like “Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi” in “Sister!” and now will not leave.
Well if somehow you have made it this far, thank you for reading and I hope that you give this album a listen :)
RIYL:
Lola Star
MENU
Trimmo
Chatterton
Even though these artists are not in the ‘fans also like’ section or the expected RIYL for Lily Piette, they give me similar vibes/sounds. I think that if you like the albums “Girl with Fish” by feeble little horse and “I Don’t Want You Anymore” by Cherry Glazerr, or the artist Pretty Sick, you might like this album too. Maybe it’s just because they are all indie rock, but those are artists that I think have a similar sound.
Recommended Tracks:
All of them!
Reviewer’s Name: K Galich
Date of Review: April 27, 2024