Release lead single and video“New Beginning”
Shows announced with Parquet Courts (April) and Tame Impala (May)
International touring + Primavera Sound, Wide Awake Festival + UK live dates
Automatic – the trio of Izzy Glaudini (synths, lead vocals), Lola Dompé (drums, vocals) and Halle Saxon (bass) – is back with their second album, Excess.
Pre-order Excess on vinyl and deluxe eco-mix vinyl here.
On Excess, Automatic synthesizes a new strain of retrofuturist motorik pop. The album rides the imaginary edge where the ‘70s underground met the corporate culture of the ‘80s – or, as the band puts it, “That fleeting moment when what was once cool quickly turned and became mainstream, all for the sake of consumerism.”
Using this point in time as a lens through which to view the present moment, Excess takes aim at corporate culture and extravagance via the medium of icy motorik pop songs. The overarching themes of alienation and escapism emerged as Automatic put Excess together, taking writing retreats to flesh out the new songs before decamping to the studio for sprint recording sessions with producer Joo Joo Ashworth (Sasami, FROTH).
On “New Beginning” – inspired by the Swedish sci-fi film Aniara – Automatic reject the false hope of leaving behind a scorched planet and searching for “a better place”, at a moment when the ultra-rich are eyeing manned space travel: “In the service of desire / We will travel far away”. Imagining the “nihilism and loneliness” of attempting to escape the planet once unchecked consumerism has reached its logical outcome, the song pictures being “stranded in a space-void with no connection to Earth or humanity.” In the video directed by Ambar Navarro, a trip to space starts out fun before taking a dark turn.
The mirrored bodice on the album’s cover – shot at California’s Salton Sea, a site of environmental decay – reflects the present day Automatic explores on Excess: distorted and chaotic with a sleek sheen. But Excess’ final message is one of solidarity, rather than despair. As Izzy puts it, “The record is about what happens to our psyches when we’re conditioned to certain values, the consequences of those values, and a desire to resist them.”
Automatic will open for Parquet Courts and Tame Impala this Spring and play at Cruel World Festival, then will head to Europe for a run of shows including Wide Awake (UK), Primavera Sound (Spain), and Best Kept Secret (NL), before returning to open for Osees in September. More shows are to be announced; see below for a full list of dates.
AUTOMATIC TOUR DATESUS (with Parquet Courts)Apr 22 WA Seattle ShowboxApr 23 BC Vancouver ImperialApr 25 OR Portland Crystal BallroomApr 27 CA Oakland FoxApr 28 CA Los Angeles WilternUSMay 14-15 CA Los Angeles Cruel World FestivalUS (with Tame Impala) May 26 OH Columbus KEMBA Live! Festival Stage May 28 NC Wilmington Live Oak Bank PavilionUK & EUROPEMay 28 UK London Wide AwakeMay 29 UK Liverpool Future YardMay 30 UK Leeds Headrow HouseMay 31 UK Brighton Green Door StoreJune 1 FR Lille La Bulle CafeJune 2 FR Paris L’internationalJune 3 FR Angers LevitationJune 4 ES Barcelona PrimaveraJune 5 ES Barcelona PrimaveraJune 8 IT Ravenna Beaches BrewJune 9 CH Aarau Kiff (with Choir Boy & Soft Kill)June 10 CH Neuchatel FestineuchJune 11 DE Mannheim Maifeld DerbiJune 12 NL Hilvarenbeek Best Kept SecretJune 13 NL Amsterdam BitterzoetJune 14 NL Nijmegen MerleynJune 15 DE Berlin UFO Sound StudiosJune 16 DE Koln Bumann & SohnJune 17 BE Charlerois Fete De La Musique June 18 NL Den Haag GrauzoneUS (with Osees)Sept 5 San Francisco ChapelSept 6 San Francisco ChapelSept 7 San Francisco ChapelSept 9 Portland RoselandSept 10 Seattle NeumosSept 11 Seattle Neumos
Automatic – Excess album track listing:1. New Beginning2. On The Edge3. Skyscraper4. Realms5. Venus Hour6. Automation7. Teen Beat8. NRG9. Lucy10. Turn Away
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My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
