4 out of 5

Label: Computer Students

Produced by: C’mon Tigre

This review is for the Computer Students reissue specifically, and not the album itself, which is reviewed here. You might see this billed (on Discogs, for example) as “C’mon Tigre,” i.e. a self-titled release, but the reissuing label has deemed this “Tenth Edition Newness” or TEN, so here we are.

Reissues: worth it for various reasons. Is the format new, or is getting the original album in the same format difficult? Definite yes to the latter – the album was issued in a super limited edition by Africantape Records, the precursor to Computer Students, and copies are sold… cost prohibitively. At the same time, I own the CD, which is not as cost prohibitive, and generally more available, and I’m not such a fan of this album that I hear much value in the wax versus the digital, but that’s where tastes will obviously vary. Still – point in the worthwhile column for making this accessible again on vinyl.

Is the recording itself new? Nope; no extra material, no remaster. Same as it ever was. But… we do get a nice, artsy booklet with the thing that’s as highfalutin’ as the music, meaning tastes will still vary on the worthwhileness of that as an extra – it’s just, like, some interpretative text maybe relating to the tunes; some artsy photos and artsy art – however, I dig that we are given an extra at all, and that thought and care was put into its curation to match the product. (Not that I’d expect less from Computer Students.)

What really puts this over, though, is actually its digital bonus, a live capture of pretty much the entire album from 2015, their “first live show with nine musicians on stage.” Some of the tracks are expanded; the sequence is slightly rearranged; it’s a little slower over all; making this different enough to change the listening experience and, honestly, is my preferred version. The recording is very solid – no real live artifacts, with a round, bright sound and minimal crowd – and the lack of studio polish makes the somewhat standoffish qualities of the music (which pings on art-for-art’s-sake vibes to me) much less, with the expansions coming across as quite organic and often elevating the emotions of those songs. It would’ve been cool for this to be tossed on a CDr or something more tangible – even a mention in the booklet, just something to make it “real” beyond its inclusion as a bonus download – but all the same, you essentially get a whole separate album with your reissue. A good deal.