This Little Underground

LOCAL RELEASES

Of the many heavy bands in Orlando right now, none sear the ears and eyes as equally as C0MPUTER. Besides an extreme grind-punk attack that usually decimates in one-minute blasts, they’re well-known in the underground for their shock aesthetic. On stage, C0MPUTER are electrifying freaks with an art-rock streak, ripping polemic tornadoes while dressed like post-apocalyptic warriors. In image and concept, they’re lurid and dystopian, with DOS-era graphics straight out of the gritty digital past.

Even with that track record, though, C0MPUTER have now returned, more intense than ever, with the just-released Masturbation Ritual, their first new album in over four years. Besides being their most extended work so far, the 12-track collection is also their brawniest material yet. Here, their usual fury packs new low-end muscle now that vocalist Cassidy Jones is also on bass. It’s a fresh dimension that gives their onslaught new tonnage and authority.

But C0MPUTER have always stood out by being a multimedia experience. On the visual side, they plan to release a music video for each and every song on the album, all done by Jones. While the video for “23 (people) people” is the only one to drop so far on YouTube, it’s a vivid sample of the parade of damage to come. Using datamoshing techniques that tamper with video files to glitchy effect, the montage is a fried, kinetic scramble that showcases Jones’ artistic flair and is the perfect visual manifestation of C0MPUTER’s berserk sound.

While Masturbation Ritual won’t go up on the major corporate platforms until later this month, it’s now streaming on Bandcamp, YouTube and Soundcloud. In keeping with the band’s style and concept, the album’s also currently available in limited-edition physical formats like cassette and packaged USB flash drive via Infinite Weed Records.

BY BAO LE-HUU

C0MPUTER | PHOTO BY WILLIAM POWELL AND LIVIA BLUMA

Of the many heavy bands in Orlando right now, none sear the ears and eyes as equally as C0MPUTER — electrifying freaks with an art-rock streak — and their first new album in four years

CONCERT PICKS THIS WEEK

Indie-Folkfest at the Mennello: Now that the weather’s showing signs of mercy, it’s time to take full advantage of outdoor events again. This free daytime gathering is an idyllic combination of festivity, setting and accessibility. Presided over by guest emcee Blue Star, the 7th annual edition of the Indie-Folkfest will serve up a musical spectrum spanning folk, Southern soul, roots rock, blues, country and Western swing from homegrown acts Beemo, Beth McKee and the Swamp Sistas, Shine & the Shakers, Dale Bandy & the Blue Cans and Oak Hill Drifters. Friendly for both families and pets, the lakeside event in the museum’s picturesque sculpture garden will also feature 30 independent vendors of art, food and drink. Go get local. (Noon Saturday, Oct. 8, Mennello Museum of American Art, free)

Cold Medicine, Mother Juno, Shania Pain: Calling all true children of the night, this one’s just for you. The enigmatic Cold Medicine — the solo electronic vehicle of Phil Taylor from Tampa band Sleeping Pills — deals in a dark, pulsing sound that’s seductively synthetic and seriously gothic. Also featured on the bill is Orlando’s Mother Juno, perhaps the purest torchbearer of EBM to emerge in ages. The black cherry on top of the evening will be the return of Orlando experimental act Shania Pain, who’ve earned deep underground cred by stripping dance music down to its hypnotic essence and pushing it to the most outside fringes. It’s a full night of intrigue that’s definitely not for the squares. (8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, Stardust Video and Coffee, $10)

Vomit Forth, Simulakra, Snuffed on

Sight, Tactosa: After all the stress and show cancellations caused by Hurricane Ian last week, I think a good heavy-metal rager is in order. Fate clearly agrees, because this timely bill will bring the focused brutality of Connecticut’s Vomit Forth, the heavy and hairy punk metal of Delaware’s Simulakra and the acrobatic death metal of Tampa’s Tactosa. My pick, however, are San Francisco’s Snuffed on Sight because they understand that the last thing death metal needs is another vomit growler and so instead feature unholy vocals that sound like a stuck pig. Well played, gents. (8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12, Will’s Pub, $13-$15)

baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com orlandoweekly.com ● OCT. 5-11, 2022 ● ORLANDO WEEKLY 47