The Automatic

On This Day 03/08/2008 The Automatic

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On this day, 3 August 2008, Welsh band The Automatic played Cardiff’s Big Weekend in support of Northern Irish band Ash.

The members first met at primary school, in the early 1990s, and formed a band at the age of 13. Alex Pennie was asked to join five years later. Originally known as White Rabbit, up until February 2005 when they renamed themselves The Automatic because they believe that music is the antidote to "the automatic life". After recording their two-track demo featuring rough versions of "Monster" and "Rats" in 2005 they signed a five-album record deal with B-Unique Records in their gap year.

During the band's debut release period of Not Accepted Anywhere they were often categorised as electro-disco-punk rock,; at this point they were using more synthesiser keyboards, and had been compared to acts such as Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, and 'thrown in' with the indie rock scene of 2006, the band have even stated that the album was altered in the mixing process "When we were recording the first album there were some really heavy guitars going down but only the clean ones were used" a decision of the record label and producers involved with the album, some of these guitars parts were restored in the 2007 US release of Not Accepted Anywhere when it was re-released and re-mastered, the band at one point were even labelled as Glam rock, which former keyboardist Alex Pennie blamed NME for.

The band cite their influences such as Jarcrew, Muse, Blur and The Blood Brothers, and a joint love for bands such as Radiohead and Ash, The band's second album was compared to the sound of Ash's early work by many critics, as well as this the second album is generally listed as having a 'bigger sound' with heavier guitars, less synths, drums and more vocals.

The debut album, Not Accepted Anywhere, lyrically refers to the band's experiences growing up in Cowbridge, while the second album, This Is A Fix, lyrically takes inspiration from politics and news items, except for "Steve McQueen" which lyrically is similar to the tracks on Not Accepted Anywhere and was intended originally as a bridge between the two first albums, as a stand-alone single being originally recorded at the end of 2006, for an early 2007 release. "Monster", "Recover", "In The Mountains" and "Responsible Citizen" lyrically refer to substance abuse and alcohol, the media in "Magazines", the record industry in "Accessories" and "You Shout You Shout You Shout You Shout", the climate in "High Tide on Caroline Street", people the band dislike in "Team Drama and "Seriously... I Hate You Guys", growing up and day-to-day lives in "That's What She Said", "In This World", "Raoul", and "Light Entertainment".




We wrote a song, it did really well, I don't really see what there is to be upset about. You get labelled "one hit wonders", but that's more hits than most people have. And it's not like we've disappeared without a trace. We've got a second album coming out, which in my opinion is full of much better songs. We wouldn't have been in a position to fly to LA to make a record if it wasn't for 'Monster'."

— Robin Hawkins on the success of "Monster"


On this day 22/07/2010 Funeral For A Friend/The Automatic

Images may be subject to copyright

Images may be subject to copyright

On this day, 22 July 2010, Welsh bands The Automatic and Funeral For A Friend played Cardiff University Funeral For A Friend were on their Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation Tour.

REVIEW - BUZZ - FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND + THE AUTOMATIC + YOUNG GUNS

Solus, Cardiff Students’ Union, Cardiff

Thurs 22 July

Subtitled Saying Goodbye to Darran Smith, Thursday’s show at Solus proved to be a fitting send-off for the departing guitarist, with a celebration of the band’s work over the past eight years. Particular focus was given to early material, including the first performance of 2003’s debut album Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation in its entirety.

Indeed, there was an atmosphere of expectation amongst the excitable crowd, released in a mosh-pit frenzy when the band launched into opener Rookie of the Year. Despite the somewhat melancholy motive for the evening’s performance, frontman Matt Davies was in high spirits, with frequent jokes about the predictability of the setlist as well as several courageous stage-dives into a frantic sea of hands.

A brief interval was followed by the band’s return to the stage for 2007’s Into Oblivion (Reunion). The hits kept coming, with a ferocious rendition of latest single Wrench demonstrating a band that shows no sign of slowing down. Matt Tuck, vocalist from Bridgend contemporaries Bullet For My Valentine, joined the action onstage for a dual-vocal assault in fan favourite This Year’s Most Open Heartbreak, ahead of the bands’ joint European tour later this year.

2005 single History proved to be a fitting end to the evening, with the repeated refrain “your history is mine” echoed by Davies’ assertion that “Darran Smith will always be part of Funeral For A Friend”. Judging from tonight’s performance, the band has a lot of history yet to tell, albeit with one less storyteller.

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Funeral For A Friend - Setlist

Rookie of the Year

Bullet Theory

Juneau

Bend Your Arms to Look Like Wings

Escape Artists Never Die

Storytelling

Moments Forever Faded

She Drove Me to Daytime Television

Red Is the New Black

Your Revolution Is a Joke

Waking Up

Novella

Encore:

Into Oblivion (Reunion)

The Art of American Football

Roses for the Dead

Wrench

Streetcar

You Want Romance?

This Year's Most Open Heartbreak

(with Matt Tuck)

History

The Automatic - Setlist

Recover

On the Campaign Trail

Interstate

This Is a Fix

Sleepwalking

Something Else

Run & Hide

Steve McQueen