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What's That Coming Over The Hill?

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5 Jan 14th, 2008 

46 Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful

Advantages:
Infectiously catchy pop music .

Disadvantages:
The album will not be to everyone's taste .

Recommendable Yes:

Detailed rating:

Originality

Lyrics

Quality and consistency of tracks

How does it compare to the artist's other releases

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RazzaLazza

RazzaLazza

About me:

♥ Forever and Always. ♥ x - Happily Married and Happily Writing

Member since:01.05.2005

Reviews:283

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The Automatic are a four piece band hailing from Cardiff in Wales. Forming in 2002, the band have come a long way in the past five years and enjoyed a large degree of success in 2006 when they released their début album 'Not Accepted Anywhere'. It was hard to miss this young Cardiff based band in the summer of 2006; everywhere you went their infectious 'Monster' single seemed to be playing, and therefore you were made to listen to The Automatic regardless of whether you liked them or not. If you liked the popular 'Monster' single, then all I can say about the album is; there's plenty more of that where that one came from, with the album jam packed full of catchy tracks where any of the twelve on the album could easily have been released as a single.

The album kicks off with the fiery 'That's What She Said', with the band quickly getting into their stride and showing what they are capable of. From here we begin to move through a few familiar tracks such as 'Raoul', 'Recover', and the aforementioned 'Monster' which have all been released as singles. There is good reason why all of these tracks were released as singles as they truly are infectiously catchy, highly exciting pop tracks that demand your full undivided attention. Putting all of the singles at the start of the album was a potentially risky business as it could have meant a disappointing listening experience where all but the opening tracks fell flat, however The Automatic are able to keep up the momentum throughout the album and there is never a dull moment with 'Not Accepted Anywhere'.

The band make their thoughts known about the current state of commercial music in this album, stating on catchy track 'You Shout You Shout You Shout You Shout' that there is 'so much trash on the radio today.' In this one they also make reference to the Panic! At The Disco album 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out', and in many respects it can be seen that the band are much like them in that they are also having great success with an extremely catchy début album. Another thing these bands have in common is that they are both synth heavy, and it can be seen that this was definitely the sound of 2006; for bands to have forefronted a synth in their music. Some may argue that The Automatic are a band that have been handed it all on a plate, however I'm sure that the band would disagree with this and argue that they've worked hard for what they have achieved. Having been around since 2002, they would have good reason to argue this case too as taking four years to become popular hardly makes them much of an overnight sensation.

There are many great tracks on this album and aside from the obvious single releases, and the aforementioned 'You Shout You Shout You Shout You Shout', other tracks that automatically spring to mind are 'Seriously…I Hate You Guys', 'Team Drama', and epic album closer 'Rats'. What is most notable about this band is that there isn't a single track on this album that doesn't have an astonishing chorus. I feel that the choruses are often the driving point of this band, with the immaculate vocal styling of Rob coupling with the screams of keyboardist Pennie providing a perfect contrast and working brilliantly throughout the album. The band are extremely catchy, with the synths, screams, and lead vocals creating a perfect blend when placed alongside the booming bass lines, fiery guitar riffs, and powerful drum beats.

The Automatic are not always instant, for instance the first few times I heard 'Raoul' I really didn't see what anyone saw in it, however with repeated listens it really began to grow on me and became one of my most heavily played songs for a while. Once you get used to the bands quirky style, which can range from disco-punk to Indie, and then onto pop-punk seemingly at the flick of a switch with flashes of Screamo added into the mix every so often, you really begin to enjoy their music and admire 'Not Accepted Anywhere' for the range of genres it manages to cover in its 40 minutes. It is clear that The Automatic have varied influences, ranging from the likes of At The Drive-In and Refused, to Radiohead and Blur.

'Not Accepted Anywhere' entered the official UK album charts at number 3 when it was released last June, a testament to just how popular a band The Automatic truly are. They've proven to me with this album that they thoroughly deserve all the success that they have achieved as it is a great album, especially what with it being their début. It is not often that a band releases such an exciting first album, and when their young age is taken into account, with the fact that they are were all still teenagers when this album was written and recorded, this achievement just seems even greater. I feel that with age this is a band that we will see blossom, and with The Automatic currently in the studio putting down ideas for number two; we will soon know for sure whether the band will flourish or fade away. With keyboardist Pennie having now left the band, I feel that their second album will perhaps not be as strong as their first as a lot of the flair and beauty about this début was encompassed in the performance of Pennie as a keyboardist and as a backing vocalist. That said, I truly hope that The Automatic will outdo themselves with their second album and once more prove themselves worthy of the success they have sustained.


Released: 19th June 2006
Label: B-Unique 

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Comments about this review »

brereton66 01.02.2008 15:52

Not a Radiohead fan so I'll give this a miss

Borg 17.01.2008 23:30

I have this one! Monster is very good, very catchy...

martint1983 15.01.2008 17:02

Fantastic review

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