Computerwife vs. the Internet

Paxton Poole 

Music Journalist 

For women’s history month I wanted to talk about an album from an artist who really inspires me, Computerwife. Computerwife is the brainchild of New York City-based Addie Warncke, who started out posting music on SoundCloud in 2018 as a diary of sorts. When the pandemic hit, Warncke released her first EP which consisted of her 5 favorite songs from her SoundCloud discography. In 2023 Warncke released her self-titled debut LP “Computerwife” which is a blend of alternative rock, shoegaze, emo, and even lo-fi pop. This blend is achieved through the duology of electronic and analogue instruments, resulting in a depressing almost unnatural but still beautiful atmosphere. 

Internet culture and how the ease of online communication has eliminated the meaning behind most messages is a crucial theme to this album. The first track of the LP, “Vacation,” sets the tone for the rest of the journey perfectly. Vacation opens with an upbeat bassline making you think the song is a jolly one, yet chaos follows shortly after. Warncke’s vocals start somewhat happy emphasizing her need for a vacation, but by the second verse Warncke starts doubting her needs stating she doesn’t even know why she said that. This sudden shift in thinking is meant to demonstrate someone’s confidence draining away after seeing someone online living an “ideal” life. Nowadays it takes so little as a scroll on Instagram for somebody to endlessly overthink something they were once so confident about, a negative side effect from the internet that Vacation perfectly exemplifies. 

The second track of the album “You Make It Look So Easy” follows up on this theme in a more cynical light. The track is filled with heavy guitars and muted shoegaze sounding vocals that emphasize the jealousy one might have while scrolling through Instagram. When listening to the song you feel as if your greatest enemy curb stomped and threw you into a ditch while partying with all of your friends. “You Make It Look So Easy” aims to represent the toxic mindset brought about by endless scrolling by showing the inner thoughts one may have when seeing all of their friends out on vacation or doing something with their life while you are just sitting around on your phone.  

Tracks 5 and 6 “Hehehe” and “Texas Chainsaw Dilemma” stray away from the theme of jealousy and instead focuses on desperation. Hehehe is an intensely slow and somber track that represents the feeling of insomnia fueled by midnight scrolling. The song portrays the inner dialogue of someone rotting away in their room obsessing over someone who won’t even care to DM them. The tantalizing track features loud ringing mixed with muted guitar riffs and vocals that replicate the gloom of heartbreak. Following “Hehehe” we have “Texas Chainsaw Dilemma,” a lyric-less track filled with mystical electronic keys and screams that are somehow both quiet and loud at the same time. Texas Chainsaw Dilemma has a uniquely evil tone which makes you feel as if you’re awake during surgery unable to speak a single word. The track perfectly demonstrates how hopeless the feelings of depression and isolation are, all without any lyrics which is just astounding. 

Computerwife’s debut album has my upmost respect because it calls out the association between depression, isolation, and social media addiction. Addie Warncke bravely brought her own insecurities to light so that she could help society understand just how negatively social media addiction affects the human psyche. As someone who has struggled with a plethora of insecurities and depressive episodes because of the internet, it makes working through these problems so much easier knowing that I am not alone. Computerwife is a depressive melancholic masterpiece that will help depressed and stressed-out people start to heal, which I cannot thank Warncke enough for creating.