Computerwife (the moniker of NYC-based Addie Warncke) today shared her driving, fuzzy new single “I Get Better Every Day” off her self-titled debut album out August 4th via Danger Collective Records.
The track arrives with a Jackson Katz (Brutus VIII)-directed video, which finds Warncke dying her hair and getting her ear pierced in real time. “When I made this song, I thought I was gaining control of my life and building self confidence,” Warncke says. “This is one of the first songs that taught me how to write lyrics. I was reading ‘Annihilation’ (by Jeff VanderMeer) and wrote down interesting words and then found ways to use those words to express my own thoughts.”
Of the video, she adds: “I wrote and recorded ‘I Get Better Everyday’ as an 18/19 year-old thinking that I was becoming the best version of myself while losing it mentally. It reminded me of the movie ‘Thirteen’ which covers the same kind of story. After I moved out of my last apartment, I had my entire bedroom in storage, so it was really easy to recreate it in Jackson’s white studio. We settled on doing a fucked up ‘Thirteen’-style makeover in the bedroom and chose the home piercings, hair dye, and destroying belongings as classic manic teenager activities.”
Following a series of initial performances supporting acts like Panchiko, Been Stellar, Hello Mary, and They Are Gutting a Body of Water, Computerwife is set to stage a grand album launch in her hometown at Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right on August 16th. Her live performances are amplified by an expanded ensemble, featuring drummer John Supnik and guitarist Dalton Salisbury, promising a more robust and resonant sound.
Computerwife’s music, a unique fusion of shoegaze, emo, and lo-fi noise pop, resonates with the existential unease of the modern digital girl grappling with her identity. Her debut album is a mesmerizing sonic journey that blurs the lines between analog and digital. “The album is a creative exploration of the deep web, an attempt to amalgamate various media forms into something novel,” says Warncke.
The journey of Computerwife began in 2018, at the onset of Warncke’s college years. She used SoundCloud as a personal journal, documenting her emotional journey. With no prior knowledge of production or a band to collaborate with, she was determined to expand her songs beyond just writing. An episode of Song Exploder featuring Grimes inspired her to download a free trial of Ableton, enabling her to develop her tracks and delve into electronic production. Armed with her dad’s guitar and bass, a Fender deluxe amp, and a focusrite to Ableton, she began recording on her dorm room bed. Her first EP and upcoming debut LP are the fruits of three years of exploring music production on her computer with minimal, portable equipment.
Computerwife is a reflection of Warncke’s essence, inspired by internet rabbit holes and various influences that have shaped her, from Coney Island to My Bloody Valentine, Alex G, The Flaming Lips, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Her lyrics delve into the psychological turmoil she experienced when she, in her words, “went crazy, deleted all my music, and ran back home.”
