A couple of weeks ago I picked up Autolux’s Future Perfect album which has been great for cloudy El Nino weather. Like a pot roast or French onion soup Future Perfect is currently the comfort food for my soul. They’ve been compared to Sonic Youth and Radiohead and while I can hear that on tracks like “Turnstile Blues” or “Angry Candy”, they definitely have a more modern shoegazey spin on that classic sound.
“Turnstile Blues” is probably their most recognizable song on the album and it’s definitely one my favorites with that intense popping drum beat that’s easy to get stuck in your head. However “Subzero Fun” for some reason takes me back to my grunge days with the whiney grit on the guitars and the soft tenor on Eugene Goreshter’s voice falling somewhere between Billy Corgan’s (Smashing Pumpkins) shrill and Thom Yorke’s (Radiohead) quiet haunting. “Robots In The Garden” turns the album’s shoegaze into a sudden party while “Plantlife” intoxicates you with some screechy guitar that drugs you with a low buzzy-tingle – not sure if you are becoming energized, drunk, or both. “Capital Kind Of Strain” is a great way to close out the album with it’s echoing drone and light guitar sending you out into the world with it’s reverberations wanting just a little more.
Next on my purchase list is their other album Transit Transit which sounds just as good, but what really drew me in is their single release which is supposed to whet your appetite for their upcoming project due on the digital shelves after they play Coachella this year. Deep, dark, and dreamy “Soft Scene”, which I highly, highly recommend giving a listen to, especially if you are a Portishead fan, will play your dark emotions like a beat machine.
Robert C. Olson 