British IBM - Things Change
by Dave Goodwin
published: 8 / 6 / 2025
Label:
Pope Records
Format: CD
intro
Melancholic but melodic fifth album from Cambridge-based indie/electronic rock trio The British IBM
A band we have featured on numerous occasions in the past are Cambridge based The British IBM who were formed by retro enthusiast and singer-songwriter Adrian Killens as a way of combining his two passions, indie rock and vintage computing. He was joined by an innovative rhythm section featuring bassist David Martin and drummer Scott Wilson. The trio had been performing and touring together for two years before The British IBM was officially born back in January 2012. They started life out with a self-titled album in 2012, and then followed this up with ‘Psychopaths Dream in Black and White’ in 2014. 2017 saw a change in the line-up and the release of two stand-alone singles. Two years after that they recorded and released their third full-length album Play the Game. When the lockdown started in 2020 Aidy started streaming live acoustic performances every Friday at 8 pm via Twitch and these gigs spawned ‘Friday Night at the Twitch Bar’, their fourth offering in 2022. I have had the pleasure of seeing these guys live and interviewed them, and this new album is the band at their indie nerdy melancholically melodic best. I can’t remember them sounding this good. Not that their previous work is inferior but it seems Aidy and the boys have raised the bar with this one, and it is going to be interesting to see how they are going to better this. This one slides niftily into the best of 2025 list without any trouble. Marvellous.
Track Listing:-
1 Things Change2 Space to Breathe
3 These Feelings Weigh a Ton
4 Quit
5 How Should I Know?
6 Don’t Believe the Hype
7 Selfish Man
8 Ten Percent
9 Lullabies
10 Not Right Now
11 BBS
12 Bars Like These
Band Links:-
http://www.thebritishibm.com/https://www.facebook.com/TheBritishIBM/
https://thebritishibm.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/thebritishibm
Have a Listen:-
interviews |
|
Interview (2020) |
|
| Dave Goodwin speaks to Aidy Killens, the frontman with indie guitar rock trio and games enthusiasts The British IBM, about their third album, 'Play the Game'. |
live reviews |
|
Victoria Inn, Derby, 19/1/2013 |
| Dave Goodwin finds Cambridge-based indie rock trio British IBM surprisingly funny in an excellent, but rare gig at The Victoria Inn in Derby |
features |
|
Vinyl Stories (2020) |
|
| Indie-rock/vintage computing trio The British IBM tell Dave Goodwin their 'Vinyl Stories'. |
bandcamp
soundcloud
reviews |
|
Friday Night at the Twitch Bar (2022) |
|
| Polished and humorous fourth album from Cambridge indie trio The British IBM which took its genesis from a series of acoustic streams they started during lockdown |
| Play the Game (2020) |
| The British IBM (2012) |
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