Automatic

About Automatic

# Automatic

Automatic emerged from Los Angeles in 2017, formed by Izzy Glaudini, Lola Dompé, and Halle Saxon. The three musicians came together through the city's DIY scene, finding common ground in their shared appreciation for post-punk, krautrock, and the kind of mechanical repetition that makes you feel like you're inside a factory in 1979 Düsseldorf.

Glaudini handles synths and vocals, bringing an icy detachment that recalls Nico if she'd been raised on Suicide records. Dompé, daughter of Bauhaus drummer Kevin Haskins, plays drums with the precision of someone who grew up understanding that the best beats don't show off. Saxon's bass lines lock everything into place, creating the kind of hypnotic foundation that lets songs stretch out without losing their grip on you.

Their debut album, "Signal," arrived in 2019 on Stones Throw Records. The label better known for hip-hop and beat music might have seemed like an odd fit, but Stones Throw has always been willing to follow interesting threads. "Signal" delivered exactly what the band name promised: music that felt automated, precise, and coldly efficient. Tracks like "Calling It" and "Too Much Money" established their aesthetic—driving rhythms, minimalist arrangements, vocals delivered with almost clinical distance. It sounded like the soundtrack to a late-night drive through an empty city, all sodium lights and concrete.

The band spent the next few years touring and refining their approach. They opened for acts like Osees and Merchandise, playing to crowds who appreciated bands that value atmosphere over accessibility. Their live shows emphasized the trance-like quality of their recordings, with all three members locked into grooves that could run for seven minutes without feeling indulgent.

"Excess" came out in 2022, showing a band willing to push further into experimentation. The album expanded their palette while maintaining the austere aesthetic that defined them. Songs got weirder, structures got looser, but that core motorik pulse remained. It was less interested in being inviting and more focused on creating its own hermetic world.

What makes Automatic work is their commitment to restraint. In an era where many bands equate more with better, they've built their sound around what they leave out. The spaces between notes matter as much as the notes themselves. Glaudini's vocals never reach for emotional peaks, and that flatness becomes its own kind of affect—not bored, exactly, but observing everything from a careful distance.

They continue to operate outside the algorithm-friendly frameworks that dominate indie music now. No viral moments, no playlist-bait singles, just three musicians making exactly the kind of music they want to make. If you're looking for bands carrying forward the spirit of early Factory Records or Mute's coldwave catalog, Automatic deserves your attention.

Their shows are tight and hypnotic rather than bombastic. Crowds tend to be there specifically for the music, not the spectacle. Dark venues, focused attention, minimal stage presence. People move but don't lose it.

Known for Turn Off the Lights, Overdrive, Neon, Static, Digital Sleep

See Automatic Live