Automatic – Signal (2019) / Excess (2022) – LOST LITTLE CLASSICS

It would be easy and catchy to put something like 'here's Kevin Haskins' daughter's band' or similar in the title of this post, but I don't like easy things and I have a low profile, so fuck the current clickbait scheme and let's get to what matters, the music.

The girl trio Automatic emerged in 2017 in the city of angels formed by Halle Saxon-Gaines (bass), Izzy Glaudini (synthesizers) and Lola Dompé (drums and vocals), the latter also being part of the band Blackblack which she was part of with her older sister Diva, both daughters of the former drummer of Bauhaus cited in the paragraph above.

Shortly after its formation, the group attracted attention for its energetic and theatrical live performances and, to a lesser extent, for not using guitars. In 2019, after an independent single, they signed with Stones Throw and released their second album there – which on the B-side featured a version of “Mind Your Own Business” by Delta 5one of his greatest influences – and in September of the same year his debut, Signal.

In a rough summary, the album's vibe is new wave/post-punk, something between Kleenex/LILIPUT and Le Tigre (less edgy) and Suicide (less drugged and experimental) and lyrics that generally refer to the universe of science fiction.

In 2020, like the rest of non-denialist humanity, they went into lockdown and the countless reflections generated by this disastrous period are directly reflected in the theme of their second album, Excessreleased in 2022 and where the girls maintain the same musical verve with a greater dark accent.

Unlike Diva, the youngest Haskins member is still active with her band, so it's very likely that sooner or later they'll come up with a new album. If and when it comes out, I'll post it here, and one of these days I'll also play Blackblack's first and only album on our virtual turntable.

For now, suffice it to say that genetics always wins (laughs). End of transmission.