When asked about a genre in interviews, Automatic tongue-in-cheek call their construct “The soundtrack to a bank robbery”. Possibly because the three musicians from Los Angeles locked themselves in a well-secured vault, their songs follow a strictly defined aesthetic. On their sophomore album EXCESS, Izzy Glaudini, Lola Dompé and Halle Saxon move within the walls of their minimalist space-kraut post-punk, albeit more embellished than on debut SIGNAL.
Drummer Dompé, incidentally the daughter of Bauhaus legend Kevin Haskins and thus post-punk socialized, thrashes her drums in stoic monotony, the bass thuds, the Moog booms, neon-colored melodies are performed while avoiding any emotion. Sounds like Suicide’s “Frankie Teardrop” is shedding a few tears and turning away from NEU! comfort.
Excursions into neighboring genres are strictly subordinate to the concept, so disco sequencers and handclaps inspire the song “Automaton” in memory of Patrick Cowley. Every bar seems carefully balanced, the sound more important than the songs. Which is at the expense of tension arcs. Do you need them? One wishes for a bit more, more feeling, more melody, more boom. But in times when much sounds overloaded, this reduced study in neon noir is an effective antidote.
Author: Michael Prenner
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