Autolux
Future Perfect

(DMZ)

First Appeared in The Music Box, November 2004, Volume 11, #11

Written by John Metzger

It seems strangely fitting that Future Perfect, the debut from the L.A. band Autolux, not only appears on the Coen Brothers’ label DMZ but also was produced by aural wizard T-Bone Burnett. From start-to-finish, the album plays like an hypnotic, surreal, out-of-body experience, and its warped, ominous undertones are shaped as much by the blues as they are by the noise-pop excursions of Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, and Smashing Pumpkins. Throughout the set, Greg Edwards coaxes both carefully sculpted, fuzzy-edged feedback and whirring buzz saw sounds from his guitar; Eugene Goreshter sprays the music with heavy, rumbling bass patterns that pack the power of a detonating depth charge; and Carla Azar anchors the material by propelling it along its path with a pummeling clatter of percussion. This three-pronged attack, combined with the collective’s dreamily detached vocalizations, allows the group to create a moody ambience that churns with the deliberate, slow-moving intensity of molten lava. Granted, the formula employed by the ensemble isn’t entirely unique, but the manner in which it is performed screams with a hallucinogenic fury that far and away exceeds the multitude of other indie acts that, for the better part of two decades, have been mining the same territory with significantly inferior results. Of course, only time will tell if Autolux can move beyond the stylistic emulation of its heroes, but if Future Perfect is any indication, it will be an intriguing process to witness. ½

Of Further Interest...

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Worlds Apart

Bound Stems - Appreciation Night

Radiohead - In Rainbows

Future Perfect is available from
Amazon. To order, Click Here!

For Canadian orders, please Click Here!

For UK orders, please Click Here!

Ratings

1 Star:   Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2004 The Music Box