ANCHR's Artist of the Week: Automatic
This week’s artist of the week goes to Automatic, the trio from LA composed of Izzy Glaudini (synths, lead vocals), Lola Dompé (drums, vocals) and Halle Saxon-Gaines (bass).
Photo by Dana Trippe
Automatic released their sophomore record Excess during the summer of 2022, which includes singles like “Skyscraper” and “New Beginning.” When writing the new album, the band began by imagining the time between the 70’s and 80’s that they describe as “that fleeting moment when what was once cool quickly turned and became mainstream all for the sake of consumerism” and reframing it through a modern-day lens. The end result is a glossy blend of cheeky punk, dreamy psychedelia, and hazy pop that encompasses themes of alienation and escapism.
The bandmates collaborated on the songs together before moving on to work in the studio with producer Joo Joo Ashworth. Many of the songs on Excess stemmed from jam sessions, but Saxon-Gaines says that these newer songs didn’t come as easily as their debut record, and that all three band members had to be resilient with trying out new techniques in the studio. Talking about their song “Teen Beat,” Saxon-Gaines says, “To us, the name came to be about Gen Z inheriting the world at the eleventh hour, before they’re even old enough to drink. Before we landed on ‘Teen Beat,’ we affectionately called it ‘Madness’ — the madness you feel with the state of polarization today.” With the song “NRG,” Dompé says it discusses “the unknowingness that comes with testing boundaries and exploring one’s own values while finding your place in the world as an individual.”
Ultimately though, Automatic wants to leave listeners with a sense of hope with the final song on the album “Turn Away.” The band sings “There’s a light in the dark, feel the world open up” in hopes that listeners will “feel empowered to do what they can to save the world, to reject any complacency of watching the world burn,” as Saxon-Gaines says.
See where you can catch the band on tour here, and tune into the video for “Skyscraper” below,