Art rock absurdists Skiving announce debut album ‘The Family Computer’
Following on from their three 2025 singles, “The National Lottery”, “Ich Bin Ein Beginner” and “Conversations With David Berman (Was That Civilised?)” - all of which received attention from BBC 6 Music’s New Music Fix with Deb Grant, BBC Introducing and publications including Hard of Hearing and Still Listening Magazine - Skiving announce their debut album “The Family Computer”, released via Brussels-based EXAG' Records on the 8th of January, 2026.
Of the album, the band say:
The Family Computer takes the raw, unpredictable energy of a Skiving show into the studio. The record is defined by themes of nostalgia and yearning, that feeling of looking around at the embers of late stage capitalism and remembering the promise of childhood, but is always propelled by our desire to create something forward-looking and original.
The band – Matt Baker (guitar), Harry Handford (vocals, keys, guitar), Colin Olive (drums), Leo Dutton (bass), and Juan Brint-Gutiérrez (saxophone) – formed after lockdown in London in 2021. Their sound draws from disparate influences, with the band citing everything from Fugazi and Silver Jews to Scissor Sisters and MF Doom as inspirations.
Recorded with Conor Kearney at Modal Studios and Adam Brown at Stranger Sounds and Little Legs studios, the upcoming album explores themes of wistfulness, yearning, and nostalgia from different lyrical perspectives. The artwork, created by friend Kate Weir, features a cross-stitch design that brings a digital pixel world into tangible reality. It is designed to evoke that sense of wonder you used to get sitting at the family computer with all that information, connection, and art to be discovered.
Skiving will celebrate the release with a show at The Windmill, Brixton on the 11th of February. Having previously shared stages with Do Nothing, The Last Dinner Party, Lice and Yowl, and organized fundraiser gigs for Medical Aid Palestine, the band continues to blend sharp social commentary with raucous, energetic live performances.
