Automatic is DIY post-punk trio from Los Angeles featuring the talents of Izzy Glaudini (synths, vocals), and Halle Saxon (bass, vocals) and Lola Dompé (drums, vocals). The band started playing live in 2017, taking their name from the track Automatic from the GoGo’s 1981 debut LP Beauty and the Beat.
The band also features Lola Dompé, and daughter of Bauhaus drummer Kevin Haskins, who had been touring in recent years with Lola’s big sister Diva in the project Poptone.
Noticeably, Automatic are releasing their debut LP Signal through Stones Throw Records, the label that reissued Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” as The Bela Session EP.
The band’s musical output is imbued with classic post-punk staples, such as:
“dub reggae, motorik rhythms, and gnarly synth work inspired by bands like NEU! and Suicide with the eerie atmosphere of films by auteurs like David Lynch and Dario Argento…”
Signal speaks directly to the band members’ experiences, tied together by a sense of anxiety and alienation so common to life in the 21st-century. “Humanoid” echoes “Too Much Money”s sentiment on the disappointing falsity of social media, “Electrocution” recounts a near-death freak accident singer Izzy experienced, which is alluded to on the album art, and the title track captures the feeling of being trapped in the drudgery of a mundane life “and the realization that nobody is going to rescue you from it but yourself.”
As they put it: “The world is so fucked up, we don’t know how any musician could say, ‘This is all peachy.’”
Following “Calling It”, the band have just unveiled their second video, this time for the track “Too Much Money”.
Watch below:
Additionally, the band have done a fantastic cover of Delta 5’s 1979 single “Mind Your Own Business”
Of the cover, Automatic explains:
“We just wanted to cover it because it’s such a cool sassy song with an amazing beat. It has an inspiring attitude because it can be hard to say no, but it makes you feel empowered to do just that. It’s fun yelling ‘NO’ on stage.”
Automatic are set to finish their month-long residency at Los Angeles’ The Echo on August 26th, ahead of Signals release on the 27th.
European and UK dates are scheduled for October, with a North American tour with Black Marble to follow in November.
Order the band’s records here.
Tourdates:
- Aug 26 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
- Oct 11-13 – Perris, CA @ Desert Daze
- 17 October – Paris, France @ Mains D’oeuvres
- Oct 18 Automatic. Lille L’Aéronef – free entry. Info
- Oct 19 Automatic. Groningen Vera
- Oct 20 Automatic. Eindhoven DDW Music Festival
- Oct 22 Automatic. London Shacklewell Arms
- Oct 23 Automatic. Bristol The Lanes – free entry
- Oct 25 Automatic. Amsterdam London Calling Festival
- Oct 27 Automatic. Hamburg Goldener Salon (Hafenklang)
- Oct 28 Automatic. Berlin Urban Spree. Tickets
- Oct 29 Automatic. Antwerp Trix – free entry
- 7 November – Austin, TX @ Levitation*
- 8 November – Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street OKC^
- 9 November – Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone^
- 10 November – Nashville, TN @ The Basement^
- 12 November – Columbus, OH @ Oberlin College^
- 13 November – State College, PA @ Webster’s^
- 14 November – Oberlin, OH @ Oberlin College^
- 16 November – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz^
- 19 November – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom^
- 20 November – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts^
- 21 November – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery^
- 22 November – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom^
- 24 November – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
^* = w/ Angel Olsen, Kikagaku Moyo, Black Marble, Holy Wave and more^ = w/ Black Marble
