Photo:
Brave. Whatever you say, putting not one, but two instrumentals on your debut album is brave. To figure out how much so, imagine one of your favourite rock albums with an additional two tracks. Most perceive instrumentals like drum solos at concerts; Un-necessary at best, goddamn atrocious and reason enough to walk out at worse. Imagine the Stone Roses debut or Definitely Maybe with two 4 minute instrumentals. You can’t because it would be wrong.
Radiohead are the only performers of worth who could get away with it, indeed attempt it. Yes maybe in rehearsal or during recording but to actually commit two to record. But no, like a missile in a missile chamber, it fits. It works. Forget what the public want and go with your own flow. Edison wouldn’t have invented the light bulb if he had bowed to public demand and wants, he simply would have made a bigger candle. Born out of the legendary Manchester music scene Autokat are the latest indie kids to offer up a serving of contemporary rock, somewhere between Bloc Party, Magazine and the cure only unlike many flashes in the pan, Autokat have a genuine talent and in late night shopping have delivered an indie classic in the waiting. It’s a work of passion done their way, without the manipulation of a record label which against the grain, lets the musicians and not the marketing wagon do the writing.
Akoustik Anarkhy are well known an pretty influential in Manchester having exposed The Longcut and Nine Black Alps but in Autokat have perhaps got their biggest discovery to date. The sound is mature already. Melodic, dark, sinister but exciting. It’s positive. In ode to the greats, The Roses, The Cure, it will make you get up and move. It’s a backdrop if you like, full of teen angst and adolescent passion. The album opens with 'Shot', a crescendo of guitar pop that fuses into a wall of guitar solos and thumping guitars, all the while accompanied by an infectious slightly off kilter drum beat. It’s not a case of verse chorus verse chorus ad infinitum with Autokat. They like to experiment and take their songs on detours and interludes and breaks and decorate them with fills and guitar riffs that capture any thoughts you may have of wandering.
'Shot' gives way to 'Seven Years'. Reminiscent of the stone roses on their earlier work, it brings to the fore Autokats more thoughtful side and their unique take on missed opportunities. "We try to write lyrics that people can relate to, we write about what we see, what we know and what we feel. That applies to the album title too. Round here 'late night shopping' is what kids say if they are going robbing. Were not talking about a trip to the Trafford centre here,” say the band. With the urgency of the lyrics here this belief is true, not a fashion statement for the media. 'Dish Out' can lay claims to being one of the better tracks on the album. A slice of raw energetic punk but with a definite melancholy undertone to it. Whether this is down to the tone of lead singer John’s voice or the choice of chords is open to debate but it’s a sure fire hit. Fans of Bloc Party will recognise the pummelling guitars and appreciate the live capabilities that a band such as Autokat surely holds.
Autokat seem to have a big arsenal. For a debut album 'Late Night Shopping' is a big piece of work. It’s ambitious beyond its years. It certainly a rock record first, at times with one foot on the dance floor but at others its lying in front of a log fire with its feet up. 'Bowling' is an acoustic song about bowling but forgetting the subject matter, it’s a touching, warm detour. All albums have acoustic numbers but rarely do albums have such an array of talent and soundscapes as this. It’s a breath of fresh air. The second instrumental, 'Uber Patriot' is pretty much trip hop. It wouldn’t be out of place on a DJ shadow record, a Rae and Christian or Andy smith record. It s atmospheric, has lots of echo and a spell binding appeal to it. It shouldn’t, by all accounts fit on this record. It doesn’t belong yet it does. It’s a contradiction, a spelling mistake but as you listen to Autokat it makes sense in their world. They have created an album that is theirs and they will probably get as much pleasure listening to it as anyone else.
Plaudits will surely come, praise will be heaped. Yes they will be sneered at by papers and columns who heap praise on the Kaiser Chiefs as if they are god’s gift to music when the real treats, the real gems are right here. There is no pretension here, absolutely none. There is no London arrogance, just a casual swagger of a band assured of their album. And so they should be; it s a tour de force and a strong debut.
