Always intriguing trio, Automatic, are back with new single “Black Box”, infusing their post-punk spirit with spacey trip-hop beats and an irresistible melodic refrain.
Izzy says, “The title ‘Black Box’ refers to the black box in a crashed plane. The repetitive synth is supposed to suggest a plane gliding as it crashes/ an alarm distress call. I was listening to the Leonard Cohen album The Future a lot around the time the lyrics were written. It’s a pretty straightforward critique of people that have sold out on a large scale, specifically within creative industries. Thierry Mugler said, “art used to tell money what to do, now money tells art what to do” and the world is a less interesting place because of it.”
Automatic bring their singular modern touch, political prowess and a healthy dose of dark humor to their third album Is It Now? out now via Stones Throw. Izzy Glaudini (synths, vocals), Halle Saxon (bass, vocals), and Lola Dompé (drums, vocals) believe that the message of change is best served with a backbeat and a cheeky groove. The new collection cleverly uses their perky minimalist grooves and pop melodies as a Trojan horse to wheel in political commentary about the world’s oppressive structures: automated warfare, mindless consumerism, and the political influence of oil.
Working with a producer for the first time, Loren Humphrey (Tame Impala, Arctic Monkeys, Nice As Fuck, Cameron Winter), and balancing solo lives and varying temperaments, Automatic recorded Is It Now? in New York and L.A. They cast their net of influences wider, too, nodding to longtime favourite Patrick Cowley as well as A Certain Ratio, Air, and the moment in late-1970s British music when dub collided with punk.
Is It Now? doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but it might just inspire you to ask better questions — or at least dance yourself awake in the search.
