Terrible Terrible is an ambitious quintet that combines naturalistic and contemporary shades of the musical spectrum to create a new aesthetic using synthesizers, guitars, varied percussion, and three voices in close harmony. They’re perfect for fans of Grizzly Bear, Local Natives, Fleet Foxes, Tame Impala, and contemporary synthesizer-driven music.
2014’s Fail Better saw a smooth and immediate transition into the band’s unique sound, boasting baroque pop mentality united with a keen, modern musicianship. The follow up, Get The New Computer, is an expansion of that sound into different territories; it arrived on July 10.
Get The New Computer is an EP inspired in its entirety by growing up in a world of increasing technological development, and the ongoing conflict this presents to a group of twenty-somethings whose growing dependence on it exists in a culturally nostalgic world. From the record’s artwork (a tongue-in-cheek recreation of an album cover from our childhood, Nirvana’s Nevermind, by a young man lying naked face-down in a bathtub with a dollar floating above his head) to the instrumentation of the record, Get The New Computer exists in a world of the push and pull of our generation’s unsure blossoming. Whirling synthesizers dance around dense multilayered percussion, accented by twinkling guitar, all lying under the bed of Terrible Terrible’s signature unforgettable melodies and unique vocal harmony.
Three songs about a stubborn aversion to love and sex, a harrowing realization of mistakes that drove that love off, and an anxious admission of one’s tendencies to consume love and flesh in an unconcerned fashion; all proceeded by an introductory electronic soundscape. The title track, “Get The New Computer,” is a 4-minute sonic journey through chaotic synthesizers and soothing electronic releases that acts as a overture to the record and its motifs. The soundscape is overlain with sounds found on an old cassette tape unearthed from the drummer’s childhood home where, among other unknown noises from children and their toys, he can be heard pleading with his parents to “get the new computer.”
Ghettoblaster recently caught up with members of the band to discuss the EP and this is what they said about it.
When did you begin writing the material for Get The New Computer? 
Jack Browning: We started writing GTNC right after Fail Better came out last July.  There may even have been some overlap there, writing new songs as the others were in the post-production process. We tend to get anxious about stagnating and fight that by always trying to create new songs.
Which of the songs on the EP is most different from your original concept for the song?
Mike Tarnofsky: Probably “Tasting The Marrow.” It just went through so many different iterations before it became what was finalized and recorded.
Mark Bucci: “Dog Days” and “Between A Breath” came together pretty much right away and were solidified.
This is your second EP, after last year’s Fail Better. Might there be a full-length in the works?
MB: As Jack said, we’re always creating new songs. Since we’re still a pretty young band, we spent our first two releases exploring who we were as musicians together and what kind of sonic ground we wanted to cover. I believe we’re finally starting to get a stronghold on it and I wouldn’t be surprised if the stuff we’re writing now ended up being our first LP.
MT: We have a lot of material that we are working on right now that I am very happy with– granted my favorite material is always our newest. When we decide to take on the a full LP, I would like to write the songs with very specific “album intention.”
Speaking of Fail Better, that was recorded in multi-instrumentalist Mark Bucci’s basement. How was Get The New Computer recorded?
MB: There’s a few big differences between the recording process for this EP and the last. First, we went into a real studio, were housed there over the weekend, and used a lot of legendary equipment. We were at Carriage House Studios in Stamford, CT, where my accomplished friend Mikhail Pivovarov has done some really great work. While there, we discovered that some of our favorite records by the likes of The Pixies (Doolittle) and Pantera (Cowboys From Hell) were done there. Second, the majority of the tracks were recorded live with all four of us in the same room. Fail Better was completely multi-tracked. Lastly, I didn’t have a hand in recording this record at all. Which was a little scary for all of us at the beginning since we had never let anyone in on our creative process before, but ultimately it ended up taking mountains of stress off my shoulders.
MT: It can be an incredible source of stress if you are engineering from within the band, due to the general need to perfect every little bit of minutia.
Greg Salmon: It should also be noted that this was the first record for the band where there was a dedicated bass player. For Fail Better, Mark wrote and recorded the bass parts after the EP was mostly tracked. I stepped in to fill out the live show, and ended up meshing well when it came time to write again. So having that low end energy in the room while we all tracked together was also a pretty influential sound on this group of songs.
You all seem to have very involved day jobs. Does that make the idea of touring daunting? Do you have any plans to tour this fall?
JB: Involved is a strong word for how many of us feel about our day jobs. Lookout for weekend dates ranging from New England to the Mid-Atlantic this fall.  We’re committed to bringing our live show to as many different audiences as we can.  Expect us to hit the road in a serious way when the road starts seriously looking our way.
MT: The paradigm shift of the over-saturated music industry has really changed the role that touring plays in the process of being in a band. The best route for us right now is to start small with touring and work our way up to something bigger. We don’t want it to be for naught. That being said, I am more than ready to quit my job and just hit the fucking road. Day jobs are the pits, man.
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