AUTOMATIC Share New Single 'Venus Hour'
“Venus Hour” is the second single from Automatic’s forthcoming album Excess.
By: Michael Major Apr. 07, 2022
Automatic - the trio of Izzy Glaudini (synths, lead vocals), Lola Dompé (drums, vocals) and Halle Saxon-Gaines (bass) - release "Venus Hour" from their new album Excess.
"Venus Hour" is the second single from Automatic's forthcoming album Excess. Automatic's Izzy Glaudini originally wrote "Venus Hour" as an ode to "psycho-feminine energy". The song is "about whatever it is inside you that makes you want to do that thing that isn't logical, or safe."
In "Venus Hour," desire is a double-edged sword, an impulse that can result in addiction. Excess, rides the imaginary edge where the 1970s underground met the corporate culture of the 1980s - or, as the band puts it, "That fleeting moment when what was once cool quickly turned and became mainstream, all for the sake of consumerism." Though the album grapples with contemporary concerns - the exodus of the super rich from an uninhabitable Earth, the precarity of the art life, Gen Z inheriting the planet at the eleventh hour - the album's final message is one of solidarity rather than despair.
The "Venus Hour'' video, directed by Sylvie Lake, also slips between the decades, with each member of the band representing a female character from a different era: 1930s (Izzy), 1960s (Lola) and 1990s (Halle) - all seen through distortion and mirror images that visualize the song's themes of performance and gender identity. Inspiration came from Thoroughly Modern Millie (Lola), Peewee's Playhouse on VHS (Halle), and The Tales of Hoffmann (Izzy). The video was shot in iconic Californian locations: Izzy dances with two sculptures at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Lola is shown at Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall in L.A., and Halle walks through the Niki De Saint Phalle sculpture garden.
Automatic hit the road with IDLES and Parquet Courts this month and have confirmed performances with Tame Impala and a spot at LA's Cruel World Festival before heading to Europe for a run of shows which includes Wide Awake (UK), Primavera Sound (Spain), and Best Kept Secret (Netherlands). This September they've confirmed a quick West Coast run with Osees - more shows are to be announced. See below for a full list of dates and visit https://automatic.band/ for tickets and more info.
Watch the new music video here:
Tour Dates
US (with IDLES)
Apr 14: San Diego, CA - SOMA
Apr 19: Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom
Apr 20: Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
US (with Parquet Courts)
Apr 22: Seattle, WA - Showbox
Apr 23: Vancouver, BC - Imperial
Apr 25: Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
Apr 27: Oakland, CA - Fox
Apr 28: Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern
US
May 14-15: Los Angeles, CA - Cruel World Festival
US (with Tame Impala)
May 24 : Wilmington, NC - Live Oak Bank Pavilion
May 26 : Columbus, OH - KEMBA Live! Festival Stage
UK & EUROPE
May 28: UK, London - Wide Awake
May 29: UK, Manchester - Yes
May 30: UK, Leeds - Headrow House
May 31: UK, Brighton - Green Door Store
Jun 01: FR, Lille - L'Aéronef
Jun 02: FR, Paris - L'international
Jun 03: FR, Angers - Levitation
Jun 04: ES, Barcelona - Primavera
Jun 05: ES, Barcelona - Primavera
Jun 08: IT, Ravenna - Beaches Brew
Jun 09: CH, Neuchatel - Festineuch
Jun 10: CH, Aarau - Kiff (with Choir Boy & Soft Kill)
Jun 11: DE, Mannheim - Maifeld Derbi
Jun 12: NL, Hilvarenbeek - Best Kept Secret
Jun 13: NL, Amsterdam - Bitterzoet
Jun 14: NL, Nijmegen - Merleyn
Jun 15: DE, Berlin - UFO Sound Studios
Jun 16: DE, Koln - Bumann & Sohn
Jun 17: BE, Charlerois - Fete De La Musique
Jun 18: NL, Den Haag - Grauzone
US (with Osees)
Sep 05: San Francisco, CA - Chapel
Sep 06: San Francisco, CA - Chapel
Sep 07: San Francisco, CA- Chapel
Sep 09: Portland, OR - Roseland
Sep 10: Seattle, WA - Neumos
Sep 11: Seattle, WA - Neumos
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