Review: Computer vs. Banjo - Computer vs. Banjo

Computer vs. Banjo is two guys you may have heard of (Beau Stapleton, the mandolineer of Blue Merle, and Johnny Mann from Gran Torino) who pit a computer and a banjo in a battle royale.  Well, sort of.  CvB's sound is best described as folk or alt-country with some electronic elements.  Kind of scary, I know, but it actually ends up being a pretty good mix.

Jubilee is a great start to the album that sort of epitomizes and defines it as a whole.  A quavering piano, crazy robot noises, well-placed drums, some sweet guitar sounds, and an awesome banjo make-up this very first track.  The second track, Guitar's Need a Sinner's Touch, has an...interesting start, but the rest of the track is pretty solid, with some sweet sounding banjo sending the track to its close.  Give Up On Ghosts was the first CvB song I heard, and was my initial draw to these guys.  This song just flat out rocks.  A foot-tappin' drum beat and hand-claps form incredibly well around an excellent guitar line.  The next track, Outerspace, features more of those crazy robot noises one might expect to hear in, well, outerspace.  It's an okay song, but it has yet to really do it for me.  Low features quite a few electronic sounds, but it's just so well put together that you can't help but like it.  A sweet intro sends us into San Joaquin, where banjo, guitar, and hand-claps form a dark and groovy melody.  I'm not a big fan of Magazine Queen; it's got way too much "electronic song" feel to it.  I think it's the one instance on the album where, if you listened to this song by itself, you'd think you would have just purchased a techno album.  Stone is a very interesting song that does grow on you; I like the cymbal work that closes the song, very cool.  2heavy2hold looks, by the title, like a song that should be f. Lil MuthaFuh.  In incredibly entertaining fashion, this is actually the wussiest track on the album, and instead f. mucho mandolin.  It's an okay song, I give it a "meh."  Concealed is a well constructed song; I like the beat and general feel it conveys.  Lost is a gem hidden near the end of the album.  It's just great, (and too hard to explain), so give it a listen yourself (below).  Finally, Signs of Passing Time is the end track that looks and sounds like an end track.  It takes a long time to appreciate too; I listened to the album many times before I thought it was more than just filler.

To sum up, don't judge Computer vs. Banjo by their strange name (or their strange cover with the hands and the owl).  They do some genre bending, but the result is not nearly as horrifying as one might naturally assume.  It's good, I'm a fan, and I'm keeping my eye on them in the future.

[mp3] Jubilee
[mp3] Lost

Buy some Computer vs. Banjo: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Official | Myspace