Concert review by Beau Croxton, all photos by Tommy Krause

Automatic at Warsaw in Brooklyn by Tommy Krause

On Thursday Sept 25th at Warsaw, Brooklyn got a killer show from quite the dynamic Los Angeles link-up. Automatic and Sextile both have both released new records this year, and have teamed up for a tour. Both of these bands have different approaches and energy to their music, but there is a cohesive throughline, duality, and overlapping sounds. Sextile released their new record, yes,please , back in May– and Automatics’s incredible new album Is It Now? was set to release at midnight on the night of their show at Warsaw.

Needless to say, Automatic and Sextile are a very potent pair for one concert – it was a blast and Occult was there to catch it all.

Automatic

Automatic arrived onstage to a very excited crowd, it was clear the crowd was eager to party with both groups. The group opened with “Calling It” from their debut LP— it was a great choice to kick it off, with its stomping basslines and Suicide-esque synths. The band was backed by some vivid and playful visuals. Automatic’s tunes are infectious as hell on their own, but these vibey visuals amplified the experience nicely. The phrase “No Genocide” was projected on the screen behind the band during this song, and frequently throughout the night, to much vocal agreement. On Automatic’s new LP Is It Now? the band tells it exactly as they see it on modern affairs, and they back up their beliefs in person…respect!

Their new song “Country” was fantastic live, with all its Gary Numan-esque synths and fun refrains. Their singer Izzy Glaudini said “Our record comes out at midnight” to rowdy applause. It was really exciting to see the band on the eve-of-release of their fantastic new album– check out our review here.

”Venus Hour” was a major highlight– it got the place loosened up with its Devo-esque strut, catchy hooks and playful tambourine. Singer Izzy Glaudini took an opportunity to have some fun by sitting center stage to the delight of the crowd, while Lola Dompé especially tore it up on the drums.

Automatic at Warsaw by Tommy Krause

One of the most notable aspects of the set was just how damn good all of Automatic’s brand new songs sounded live. “mq9” got the crowd seriously moving– it was obvious some of the Sextile-geared audience resonated with the bumped BPM of the ESG-esque, dancey drums. The visuals depicted: “No More War : No Genocide”, and the audience shouted in approval.

Their most recent single ”Black Box” was backed by fun visuals of stomping high heels. The track was just as arresting and haunting in a live setting, commanding every ounce of attention in the room. “Is It Now?” saw the crowd become more animated with its speedy tempo and handclaps. Energy spiked as the fretless bass and peppy beats dominated, and the track received wild applause.

“New Beginning” from Excess is a high-spirited classic from the group– it was another major highlight of the set, with Glaudini’s jarring and awesome synth stabs cutting in mid-verse. Bassist Halle Saxon took an opportunity to say “Fuck ICE”— its always refreshing to see a band use their platform to stay true to themselves.

Drummer Lola Dompé got a real chance to shine with “Automaton”, which was extremely fun, groovy and campy in the best way. As I looked around during this number, I could see that the crowd was dancing extra silly to this one– there was nothing but extremely good vibes all around. Glaudini engaged in some fantastic laser-beam synth sounds.

“Too Much Money” ramped up the energy into the group’s punky best, and segued perfectly into “Suicide in Texas”-- Where Dompé came up front to harmonize with Glaudini.

The band closed with their new mega-banger “Mercury”, with kittens appearing on the visuals behind and Halle Saxon joining on synth. It's a massive hit both live and on record, and it was truly a perfect song to lead into the hard dance beats of Sextile to follow.

SEXTILE

Sextile went straight to business launching from a short intro into the synth arpeggios of “Disco”, and band member Melissa Scaduto waved a flag on stage that said “People Over Politics”. After plenty of roaring approval from the crowd, Brady Keehn continued to take the lead for a few consecutive songs. Up next, the reeling bass and pumping house beats of “Freak Eyes” got the place jumping. Melissa took the lead on “No Fun”, as the energy started to rise. Mid-song, Brady threw water all over the crowd– the fans went absolutely ape in response.

Sextile at Warsaw by Tommy Krause

On “Push Ups”, Keehn got an opportunity to dial the crowd up with his guitar playing. The song “Contortion” got the crowd just as engaged, with its excellent, wobbly, climbing synth-bass. Throughout the night, Mel and Brady swapped lead vocal duties, both equally delivering high energy to a feverishly hyped-up audience.

Mid-set, Izzy Glaudini of Automatic joined Sextile to sing her feature on “Kids” from their newest LP. It was a major highlight — her vocals added a lot to the sound, and the track's hyper trance-beat delivered spectacularly.

Just a personal sidenote here…Brady is an old friend of mine, and we played in a band together about 13 years ago. Brady and Melissa have been getting after it for quite some time, and it was a blast to see them continue succeed in a big way, with their music resonating with so many folks.

Sextile closed the show in a flurry of electronics, waving their flag in moments of empowerment to the delight of the crowd. After the lights came on, Melissa ran out with a big smile and gave the setlists to some die-hard fans

On their tour, Automatic and Sextile have both spread uplifting messages and occasionally shared their stances on the world’s issues in their own form of resistance through their art. With everything going on right now, a lot of people are on edge. Although the music was the main event– their show also felt like a safe space to escape the bullshit, and oppose society's pitfalls in harmony– as the audience collectively found joy. It doesn't hurt that there was killer new music delivered from both bands all night. It was one hell of a show, and we look forward to catching the next.

Check Out the full galleries of Automatic and Sextile by Tommy Krause, below!

All photos of Automatic & Sextile by Tommy Krause

( @_tommykrause_)