Automatic bring their singular modern touch, political prowess and a healthy dose of dark humor to their third album Is It Now? out this Friday, September 26 via Stones Throw. Izzy Glaudini (synths, vocals), Halle Saxon (bass, vocals), and Lola Dompé (drums, vocals) believe that the message of change is best served with a backbeat and a cheeky groove. The new collection cleverly uses their perky minimalist grooves and pop melodies as a Trojan horse to wheel in political commentary about the world’s oppressive structures: automated warfare, mindless consumerism, and the political influence of oil.

New single ‘Black Box’ infuses this post-punk spirit with spacey trip-hop beats and an irresistible melodic refrain. Izzy says, “The title ‘Black Box’ refers to the black box in a crashed plane. The repetitive synth is supposed to suggest a plane gliding as it crashes/ an alarm distress call. I was listening to the Leonard Cohen album The Future a lot around the time the lyrics were written. It’s a pretty straightforward critique of people that have sold out on a large scale, specifically within creative industries. Thierry Mugler said, “art used to tell money what to do, now money tells art what to do” and the world is a less interesting place because of it.”