Automatic announce new album Is It Now? & share new single 'Mercury'

Automatic makes deviant pop music that cuts through the brainrot. Balancing irreverence with sharp commentary, the L.A. three‑piece approached their third album with a dark sense of humor and a swing in their step. 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, and on Is it Now? they demand we look at the world’s oppressive structures with fresh urgency. The record is set for release Sept 26 via Stones Throw and the band are sharing their dark lullaby ‘Mercury’.

Izzy says the lyrics of new song ‘Mercury’ are a reminder “not to fall into nihilism or cynicism, to instead see life through a bit of a spiritual lens.” She adds, “Despite the horrible shit constantly happening, life can still be mysterious and beautiful. I wanted to lean into a sense of dreaminess, and to have the verses feel like a dark lullaby.” Musically, the song was inspired by jazz and trip-hop. When writing the bassline, Halle was heavily inspired by the Stones Throw catalogue, and a breakbeat sample made for an even bigger departure for the band. As Halle puts it, “our old ideas and new ones crashed together and resulted in this third album’s sound.”

Cybertrucks are overtaking the streets. No one’s embarrassed about ‘selling out’ anymore. Wendy’s wants to be your friend. Automatic encourages us to confront our complicity in the structures destroying us with the kind of song you can’t get out of your head.

Since their last record, 2022’s Excess, Automatic toured with Tame Impala, The Marías and IDLES, while the members’ individual lives took on new meanings. Izzy dove into music production and rescuing stray cats; Halle left behind bad habits for good and enrolled in botany classes; Lola now lives in the country, immersed in nature and spending most of her time with horses. Since forming in 2019, they’ve locked in as a band, discovering their collective synergy as musicians. For their third album, they brought on producer Loren Humphrey (Arctic Monkeys, Nice As Fuck, Cameron Winter). Humphrey encouraged them to play live and loose: long takes, a rhythm section that really breathes.

Much of Is It Now? unfolds at a trance-like tempo, paced so you could either dance along or think contemplatively alongside it – ideally, both. Perky minimalist grooves and affable pop melodies are a Trojan horse for Automatic to wheel in playful political commentary. Is It Now? doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, but it might just inspire you to ask better questions — or at least dance yourself awake in the search.

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