This would have been my pick for the second best album of 2025, but honestly, it's my favourite. By a lot.
I probably spend too much time on social media. Maybe I'm even addicted at this point, often looking to see if I've got new messages, or just wasting time away on Instagram. That might be one reason why "I Love My Computer", the debut album by Australian EDM producer Ninajirachi, has appealed to me so much. Or maybe it's because the music is banging. Maybe both, idk.
In a way, it feels like Ninajirachi - real name Nina Wilson - has come out of nowhere to claim the hearts of chronically online electronic music lovers. But she's had success in Australia for several years now, and has broken through with an album that gives an honest look at her own life surrounded by technology and computer screens, with irresistibly catchy beats in the background. Even the cover art has her surrounded by cables, computers, and anime posters, which makes me want to say "go clean your room".
That cover art is as chaotic as the music at times - loads of glitchy synths and chopped up vocal samples, like on the opener London Song - Nina sings "I have never been to London, and that's the truth" to the sound of a growling bassline, before the inevitable buildup and drop - a pure ecstatic clubbing track. I could go on and on about how much I love the bass on this track, it's that good.
Part of me thinks the song is about spending all your free time on Google Street View; when Nina sings "we could go to London, [...], anything is possible with fingers, eyes, a mouse and a screen", I can imagine her looking around and admiring Sutton. At least, I did that when I was a kid.
London Song is merely the beginning of a brilliant five track run to kick off the album. Afterwards, you get some lovely dance-pop with the track iPod Touch, which is an ode to an online childhood and long discontinued Apple products; CSIRAC, an almost completely deconstructed pop track which shines through its glitchiness; Delete is a floor-filler, with lyrics that can either be read as "I have a crush on you" or "I lust over your body". Cue bass drop and singing along with the lyrics without considering what a "mega digital meta mating ritual" means.
Arguably the standout in this run is the glitchy, somewhat technophilic Fuck My Computer, where Nina sings about wanting to "fuck [her] computer" over and over again, partly because "it knows my name [and] it goes [beeping sounds]". The first time I listened to it, I thought it must be staire, because obviously. But reading some lyrical analysis makes me realise the song all along could be about feeling so lonely your computer becomes your best friend, and that hits quite hard, because in a way I can relate.
All I Am, along with the song before it (called ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ, yes really), is a more straightforward dance track, with some nice guitar strumming here and there, a relatively basic chorus ("Yeah!") and generally just fun vibes. It's followed up by Infohazard, a song about Nina seeing something disturbing online when she was younger, but the bubbling synths and keyboards disguises that somewhat. That leaves you with an enjoyable synthpop track which you can listen to repeatedly without questioning what it's really about.
Battery Death is very similar to the previous tracks - indeed, all the songs follow the same basic formula of buildup-verse-beat drop, whilst staying eclectic enough to not come off too similar; this one merely feels less alive. "We took it too far", Nina sings, and after eight songs, I kind of agree.
That makes Sing Good, a personal and atmospheric song, feel somewhat out of place. And whilst I like the lyrics, detailing Nina's own musical journey from the beginning, it's very awkwardly placed amongst the other songs, slowing the album's momentum a bit. Especially as we're back to EDM on It's You, which is more laidback than the other dance songs, but also sounds the most generic so far. These three tracks are probably the most notable blip on the album, and after a few relistens, I'm not convinced they've truly clicked for me.
All At Once is a monster of a song to end the album on. In five minutes, Nina's talent is on full display. Chopped up drums, lovely synth lines, scanning sounds, a slowly escalating buildup which culminates in a moving finish to the album. It reminds me a bit of techno pioneers Underworld, though Gen Z-fied to an extreme, which can never be a bad sign.
For an album called I Love My Computer, I'm not convinced she actually enjoys the lifestyle as much as she does, merely the associated vibes. Once you properly read into the lyrics, it does feel like she loves making music way more than actually being online - to be honest, that's probably most people. I'm also very aware my likely target audience for this blog - people who happen to be into very dull suburbia - aren't likely to be gripped by an album as caffeinated as this one.
I Love My Computer speaks to a very specific generation, and it does it extremely well. There are barely any skips, even if the music dwells for too long at times. When it comes to making hyperactive house, Ninajirachi is probably the best person for the job.
Comments
Post a Comment