Why write a love song when you could soundtrack the crushing reality of our dying planet with melodic synth-pop? So believes Los Angeles trio Automatic, whose last album Excess mourns an Earth ravaged by capitalism – to the tune of their most anthemic instrumentals yet.
“Being female artists, any opportunity to just not be associated with men is good,” says bassist Halle Saxon of the band’s “no love songs” rule. “Not [that] I think they should all just go away or anything, but so often our identities are tied to them, and our relationship to them. And so to not even have love or relationships as a topic … I find it empowering. We’ve got other stuff going on in our minds.”
“Other stuff” includes billionaires turning to Mars for fresh resources – the subject of Excess opener “New Beginning,” which laments “endless service of desire” through deceptively infectious keys. Other tracks examine the morals that diminish as white-collar workers ascend the corporate ladder. The latter fuels “Skyscraper,” where sirens blare as Izzy Glaudini sings disapprovingly, “Every dollar gets you off.”
Avoiding the personal also helps Saxon, Glaudini, and drummer Lola Dompé, who collaborate equally, write as a unified front. Dompé points to Automatic’s California home base as inspiration, describing a “facade of happiness and sunniness.” Rampant homelessness exists next to Hollywood sets and parties.
That juxtaposition especially inspired “Skyscraper,” Dompé’s favorite track on the record. Composed during a writing retreat in the “gnarly” desert suburb of Apple Valley, the band witnessed drugs and poverty from atop a house on a hill. “The fires were happening at the same time,” Dompé recalls, “so I think that really inspired the vibe of the song.”
“We were feeling particularly dark at that moment,” Saxon agrees.
Automatic plays Austin Psych Fest at the Far Out Lounge on Friday, April 28, at 10:20pm.
Austin Psych Fest – launched in 2008 by the local festival- and vinyl-presenting team that evolved to become Levitation in 2015 – makes a notable springtime comeback April 28-30. Held for the first time at South Austin’s spacious Far Out Lounge, headliners include Toro y Moi, Melody’s Echo Chamber, Cuco, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Yves Tumor, and event co-founders the Black Angels playing 2008 breakout Directions to See a Ghost. The festival released more tickets yesterday, freeing up both daily ($88) and weekend ($223) passes at levitation.fm.
This article appears in April 21 • 2023.
