All My CDs, pt 7: Not Accepted Anywhere

I’m reviewing all my CDs. Yes, all of them.

Not Accepted Anywhere - The Automatic

One day in the late 00s I was looking at videos related to a favorite British sci-fi comedy series, Red Dwarf. One of them was simply a fan-made montage of scenes from the show set to a catchy punk song, "Monster" by The Automatic (called The Automatic Automatic in the US, for reasons I don’t find interesting). The video itself wasn’t all that great, but I found myself watching it over and over just because I liked the song. Finally I decided to buy the album it was on. This is one reason that non-commercial creative use of copyrighted material isn’t necessarily harmful to artists; in at least some circumstances, it can provide a benefit as free advertising. But this is not a political blog (except when it is), so I am digressing.

Not Accepted Anywhere consists entirely of songs as catchy and enjoyable as "Monster." There are no exceptions. It’s fun music to listen to, and interesting enough that I can’t see myself getting bored of it all that easily. It has the high energy of other punk music I’ve enjoyed, and the anti-establishment lyrics that have become almost establishment at this point, but it isn’t overwhelmingly angry. If I listen to it casually, as background noise, it’s content to sit at the back of my awareness cheerfully enhancing my mood. But if I listen more actively, it gladly comes forward and shows me what it can do.

Almost every song has at least one moment of vocal harmony that I would describe as truly beautiful, such as the final a-capella chorus of “Monster”. The instrumentation is so textured as to have an almost physical presence, taking up three dimensions of space in the mind.

The lyrics are well-written and original, but don’t really take center stage; when they do, they don’t stand out as anything more than vaguely poetic. A few exceptions exist, as songs like “Lost at Home” and “By My Side” strike me as having a point, but not being too anxious to get to it. Of all the songs, “By My Side” comes closest to striking a personal cord with me, as the words hint at some experiences I can identify with. Otherwise, they don’t really resonate emotionally.

I’ve enjoyed spending the past few days with this album, but all things must end.

Next: Yellow Submarine