I don't really consider myself a patriotic person, but if there is one thing about Britain that I am quite proud of, it's our musical heritage. A lot is said about the British Invasion of the 60s, but one particularly soft spot I have is one that follows a lineage from David Bowie, through bands like Pulp and Metronomy. Automatic Joy Revival feels like it could be the next step in that lineage.
Pulp, in particular, were the first band that came to mind when the opening Disco Beat came on. Synths shimmer over the titular disco beat while the vocals croon and whisper over the top. The delivery sits on this knife edge between sexuality and perversion, confidence and self-loathing, that feels so familiar to anyone who's listened to Different Class as much as I have over the years. It's a really strong opener.
Things carry on that way, but as much as that opening track reminded me of Pulp it's important to realise that Automatic Joy (or Autjoy) is their own artist, and this music has a flavour of its own. Every track here is very danceable, and it's clear that Autjoy loves to dance, but it can get pretty moody too. Loving The Love and title track Automatic Joy Revival seem to exist on the periphery of happiness, anticipating its triumphant return.
The Halloweeny Get Synchronised! expresses a dismissal of verbal communication over body language, a plea to connect with someone through dance and eye contact. Love Shape is more OS (overtly sexual), and in my notes I just wrote:
Pervy, I like it!
and I do!
But my favourite track of all is the one that follows, Low Resistance. It's a little slower than the rest of the album, and has a touch of New Order's optimism to it, and a really fantastic retro synth solo to boot!
My only gripe with this album, really, is that for as good as the instrumentals sound, the vocals seem to have been recorded using an onboard laptop microphone or something, and gives all the songs a bit of a demo vibe. My ears did tune to it eventually, but it did stand out when I first hit play. It's a pity because everything else about the album is wonderful.
But that's the nature of DIY music, I suppose. If you can get used to the vocal quality, and I think you probably can, then this album is well worth your time. There were multiple points during my time with it that I got distracted from what I was meant to be doing and because I was too busy bopping away, and I can't wait to hear what else Autjoy have to offer.