Automatic Releases “Black Box” Single + Video
Automatic bring their singular modern touch, political prowess and a healthy dose of dark humor to their third album Is It Now? out this Friday, September 26 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.
New single “Black Box” infuses this 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.”
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.
Since their last record, 2022’s Excess, Automatic toured with Tame Impala, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Marías and IDLES. The band is currently in the midst of an extensive co-headlining tour with Sextile this fall and just announced a headline run in the UK and Europe.
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.
Automatic tour dates – TICKETS
North America
9/23: Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Fairmount
9/24: Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
9/25: Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
9/26: Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry @ The Fillmore
9/27: Washington, DC @ Black Cat
9/29: Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall
9/30: Nashville, TN @ The Blue Room at Third Man Records
10/1: Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
10/3: Dallas, TX @ Studio at The Factory
10/4: Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
10/5: Austin, TX @ Mohawk (Outside)
10/6: El Paso, TX @ The Lowbrow Palace
10/8: Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom
10/9: Las Vegas, NV @ Swan Dive
10/10: San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
10/11: Los Angeles, CA @ The Novo
UK & Europe
11/12: Brighton, UK @ Daltons
11/13: London, UK @ The Lexington
11/15: Berlin, DE @ puschenfest
11/17: Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn
11/19: Metz, FR @ BAM
11/20: Paris, FR @ Petit Bain
11/21: La Rochelle, FR @ La Sirene
11/24: Milan, IT @ Circolo Arci Bellezza
11/25: Prague, CZ @ Bike Jesus
11/27: Munich, DE @ Milla
