The Automatic
Monster

Balanced, fair and truthfull.
Good review.

I love this song. Shoot me.

at least I dont own it. *Runs to shops to get it*

"Don’t lambaste me for ‘missing the point’, for not noticing how ‘fun’ this is. Fun is when Deerhoof sprinkle me with Technicolor melodies, or when Hot Chip sneak wit into a dance floor hit. Fun isn’t being bludgeoned over the head, causing my skull’s brain content to seep out of the fractures, with a chorus as delicately crafted as a battering ram."

Testify!

is a work of unadulterated catchy-pop anthemic genius.

You're entitled to your opinion, though.

Although, I can totally see where you're coming from, they are crap, but I love them coz I think they're FUN. Sometimes I get bored of 'good' thought-provoking music and just want to listen to catchy crap.

and well balanced review

as in there is no counter argument

Rachel Cawley is my new favourite person. Good on yer.

And no, they didn't rip off Jarcrew. Jarcrew were good.

jusr lol

I meant song..

but i don't think it's quite a zero-tear-your-face-off-slagging-it song.

I think its quite inoffensive tbh. Zeros should be left for Mr. Blunt.

Why don't you get people to review a single who may have an actual interest in this style of music? Maybe someone who actually likes Franz and Kaisers might be better able to give it a valid score in its so-called "genre" or whatever.

Its completely pointless even posting this review really, don't you think?

Fair enough, yes, you will stand behind what your reviewers say but....... come on. This sort of review serves no purpose.

1) It tells it like it is from one person's perspective. If we gave everything that comes in here to someone that'll give it 8/10, then all the reviews would end in an 8/10. So then what's the pointof having critics if everything's good already?

2) It promotes debate among our readers.

3) It makes me wonder if Rachel actually could projectile vomit. She is but wee, you see...

4) I have no four. Well, no immediate four. Oh, well maybe this: it's a good review, shut up.

It's a bloody good song.
So fuck you guys ^-^

but surely a zero is a bit ridiculous.

Really.

And I love Franz Ferdinand, I quite like Kaisers. I think Arctic Monkeys have some cracking pop songs. Don't claim that I hate everything mainstream, that's far from true!

This isn't a good pop song, and (as I said), it's not fun, it's shit. Can't imagine anyone choosing to listen to it, I really can't. I'm sure you'll all have forgotten about it in a few months time. To say it makes me want to die isn't much of an exaggeration at all.

Mike understands precisely. Weezer are one of my favourite bands ever, they have big fat choruses, but also a wry sense of humour and some actual energy rather than forumlaic triteness.

listen to what you will. regret it later.

I know thats at the extreme end of opinion, but it's been rubbed in my face by radio and television, it just gets worse the more I hear it.

I think possibly the reason why it is a 0 for me, is that it does maintain pretences that it is a worthwhile bit of songwriting. Inspecting the lyrics reveals incredibly little, the chorus is the most tired and rehashed thing I've heard this year.

I LOVE POP and thats why I wanted to decry this piece of shit masquerading as pop.

tha automatik?

I hadn't heard it until I bought it. That said, I don't listen to Radio 1, which I hear has playlisted it, but I haven't seen them anywhere on television. Give me this over some of the shit which DiS has raved about (example: the Cribs) in the past any day.

They really are that shite.

hear this now. Yesteday when the garish cover attracted to me to the 7" (i'm a sucker for 50s b-movie-type artwork) I wasn't that arse, but now I just have to hear this record. Great review!

not even fucking close

but Its definitely better than 0 in my opinion.

It doesn't grate on me at all. I'd give it 6 or 7

this is so so heated.
i know, everything has been said thus far, but in my opinion:
- no indie snobbery is used here at all, the song is just a bit rubbish.
- name dropping is what reviewers DO! i think it's helpful in getting the message across.
-sure the review's a bit harsh, but it made me laugh and if nothing else that makes it fairly successful. i like reviews of bad albums/songs because it just makes me laugh.

ok, yeah, basically, i think the reviewers are mainly right and abusing each other over the internet is silly and wrong. spare the 'fuck yous' for your friday night out at yates'.

Not off to listen to Hot Chip or Deerhoof then?
That didn't last long!

Don't you worry pal, I will listen to this as its top, and I guess both views here will have their supporters but I again will see who comes out on top when the smoke dies down.

Glad you think ad infinitum now = 12, like the song review I doubt many will agree with that.

Wack wack ooops

Again, I stress that this is a ridiculous thing to say, an accusation that has no grounding. There is no evidence above of Rachel attempting to be a perception of cool through prose alone.

A band becoming popular DOES NOT make people automatically dislike them - my fondness for Bloc Party did not wane when they blew up on a global scale, and many of my favourite bands are able to sell-out huge venues. Obviously there is evidence of continual critical backlash in the press, music or otherwise, but generally DiS is unaffected by such trends as we don't need to be 'controversial' about a popular band to seel a few crummy magazines. We tell it like it is: this is an honest review, well written and structured with intelligence and wit. Roughly 99 per cent of so-called critics in the music press could learn from it, for it contains not one FUCKING OBVIOUS CLICHE.

Anyway... people rate bands lowly if they think they're cack; likewise one person's bad song is another's Desert Island Disc. Go figure.

Tommy Cooper was an awful magician - that said, he was smart enough with his inabilities to be successful all the same - but Les Dawson was actually a very talented piano player.

Its a bad song. It is boring. It has little to no worth. It is a waste of resources and time.
Stop being twats. It was only a review.

The Magic Numbers are indeed a complete load of overrated boring easy listening nonsense.

You don't have everything wrong ;) and you like Broadcast I see - so there's hope yet.

Mike - not that it will matter one jot to you - I like most of what you write, and respect most of what you commit to "press" but if you can't see that dropping Hot Chip and Deerhoof into a review about The Automatic is at best misguided then I am genuinely surprised.

And Bloc Party we both salute, so I'll stand with you on that. (BTW have you heard Mission Of Burma's new cd - luvverly!

Cyndi Lauper I could have handled.

edtaf? the only twats on here are the ones who stamp their feet when people care enough to write in about the music they like.

If you don't like reading the responses - don't bleedin' read them!

>give me strength!<

and I hate people that say mint.

Rrrachel

Thanks for taking my barbed comments with such good grace!
Yes we both have a lot of common ground and good god I am not a The Atumatic fan as such I just think the Monster ditty is a fine song.

I completely and utterly agree that Maximo Park are a stellar orbit better than The Automatic.

I still think that the bands you mentioned were out of place but it's a free world
> you mention, I criticise, then we agree on something and the world still turns nicely on its axis :)

PS Hot Chip? not good! :)))

As you've been so nice to me.
The new Mission Of Burma is "Obliterati" released in the UK on Monday and almost as essential as my big smiley faces is the free DVD that comes with the CD.

Much niceness.

8.99 at HMV on line - tell em someone happy sent ya!

absolutely. very well put, once you have to justify something so many times it just sounds silly.

this is a great review!

i think this article should be highlighted at the end of the year review

is quite quirky and silly, yet enjoyable but the actual song is pathetic. It makes me want to kick faces when I hear "whats that coming over the hill?..."

especially about Raoul. Both are fun, disposable catchy pop tunes.

I don't think they're bad live either - although their overblown hyperactivity does start to grate after a while.

...surely the 0-10 scale requires you to use its 0 if you find a song so offensive that you want to die.

I'm histories least cool person and I reside in a band that makes bollcks cheesy pop wank wherever possible, but this song is STILL A COMPLETE FUCKING HORRORSHOW (no pun intended) and I'd give it a 0 as well. Bravo.

I'm sure jambojambo did read the review! else they wouldnt be commenting on it just below!

The backing vocals really suck and he's a complete twat on stage. Good band otherwise.

my god! this review is so full of himself it could be goth!

you knox a review shoudn't exist when the reviewer speak more of herself than speaking of the subject ^^

This is certainly not the song of the year i would understant a rating between 3 and 7 but i'll save 0 for the next britney

you seem to be 'fair & balanced you should wrote for the Fox

the little shouty one.

i quite like this song. I'm not keen on their other stuff, but i find this song quite catchy and good to sing along to.
So shoot me.
xx

that when they played it at the club i work at, i heard the lyric as ' whats that coming over the hill, is it a vauxhall?, is it a vauxhall?'.which would clearly have made it a genius song and bedfellow to 'the claw' by ten benson.

Yes , it has been a long day. Not to sure about people who write for DiS taking an 'im right and your wrong' attitude about others who put up their comments. thats the kind of thing nme or an evrett true related tossrag do.

with jambojambo, thats what i wanted to say but my brain isn't working at the mo

she's nice.

That's a good song isn't it.

I feel I should come to some sort of defence for the Automatic, as I don't mind what everyone's personal opinion about the single is, but I think their live shows are being slagged off too much

basically, I haven't seen them play live since they got a record deal, but when they were White Rabbit, they always pulled off a blinding live show whenever I saw them
they had the energy on stage that they have today, but they were also very well rehearsed, and I remember once I thought they were playing amazingly well and then Frost, their guitarist, started apologising for them not playing well

if anyone has been looking on their gig list since they've got signed, they've played a lot of gigs, but this probably doesn't allow as much time for practice
when I spoke to Pennie last year, he said that their new songs were coming out of jams in sound checks, suggesting that they haven't had a lot of time to practice them properly, and I can only blame the number of gigs they've had and album deadlines for this

anyway, you may all disagree with that, but I just thought I'd voice how I see it
thanks
matt:)

........

My personal opinion? I'd give Source 5 that quarter-of-a-million record deal over White Rabbit (aka "The Automatic") any day.

actually, maybe I wouldn't...I'd be worried it would turn them shit too - and that'd be a real loss.

(and a band being too busy touring to write and rehearse songs kinda comes with the job, it has to be said. If we consider Monster, Rats, Recover, Team Drama, Raoul, By My Side and Keep Your Eyes Peeled were all written before they were signed, they don't have much of an excuse on that front anyway)

Looks like a lot of people really have 'got it in' for these people ... the Automatic (is it some kinda welsh racism ????). For me they seem to be part of a new refreshing wave of Brit Pop, and if this top ten single is anything to go by, a welcome addition. Okay its not a very deep song, but it makes great airplay the first time you hear it, instantly catchy and stand alone it's one of the best pop moments of 2006.

We've found the answer! We must all hate the Welsh!

Bloody hell.

in an "I'm drunkenly watching a Led Zep tribute band" way. They do make Wolfmother look fresh and original though...

Rob (the vocalist) is from London.

And I think you'll find a few of their former-fans (from before they 'went pop') are now some of their biggest enemies... myself included.

This song really does suck the big one. Musically it is nothing. Seriously - and anyone who says otherwise can damn well prove the musicality in this song.

It's a stupid moneymaking scam, and it sells to kids because it has the word monster in it. There's a fine line between catchy and shit. This falls firmly on the smellier side of the line.

More worrying than the production of this Utter Shite taking up value air play, is what sort of muppets there are out there that are actually buying it.

Can't anyone spot talent anymore?