Informed by spine tingling instrumental segments and razor sharp vocals the blinding and intoxicating “Innocence” provides further evidence that this band are one of the most exciting musical units currently active within the city. “Short Circuit” is a moody ballad that drags its armour plated rumbles into more genteel territories, by slicing in direct melodies and ethereal guitar twangs – the powerhouse behind it all surfaces on the chorus, which slowly flexes the bands muscular, urbanised northern rock with a sullen pride. Autokat, therefore – dragging Manchester back to its roots and not before time too. MMMM 1/2
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Interview with Chris Long. They’ve been called the city’s best-kept secret, but it’s time for Akoustik Anarkhy stalwarts Autokat to come out of the shadows for debut album, Late Night Shopping. The band told us more about instrumentals, lounge recordings and kids on the rob! Read full article
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Fine debut from melodic and moody Mancunians. 4/5 A kind of bleak alternative soundtrack to Shameless, here's an album that deals with the the seamier side of urban living - the title is a reference to teenagers going out on the rob rather than Thursdays at the Trafford Centre. Late Night Shopping could be seen as a northern variant on the Londoncentric paranoia of Bloc Party's A Weekend In The City. But Autokat turn to local hero Howard Devoto's Magazine for inspiration, most notably on opener 'Shot'. There's beauty here too, with atmospheric instrumentals and the soaring guitar lines of 'Bowling'. Nathaniel Cramp
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Dave has just finished work. He rolls up a cigarette behind his pint and muses at his own pace. John picks up Ben from work and they both arrive on time, unlike myself, who is mistakenly half an hour early. Adam is unable to make it this evening. However the day for Autokat is only beginning, with a night of practice ahead of tomorrow's 6music radio session. Long days and nights have been the agenda for some time now, so when is it going to be their full-time occupation?
Ben: 'Give it another six years. Actually no, I can't be arsed now.' Dave: 'This is gonna sound shit, but we do this just because we like doing it.' Ben: 'Obviously we'd love to spend more time on it, but in the end there's more to life than music, and you try not to put all your chips in one basket.' John: 'Chips?' Ben: 'Eggs. Whatever. It's not all or nothing.'
Oh. So no wild visions of lucrative contracts and countless keyed-up nights of rock n roll debauchery? Well, actually Autokat don't need a shallow lifestyle of stardom to have a few of those. And whilst having maintained a relatively low-profile even in their hometown, this quartet have always been there with their steadily proliferating fanbase, and are now finally making for the surface, from their guitarist's front room to the studio, Autokat have protectively and meticulously crafted their first full body of work.
A painstakingly self-produced and accomplished record, Late Night Shopping has been out for a month at the time of writing. It is the soundtrack to the lives of four young men, but rather than gritty realism, Autokat do filmic intensity, ringing guitars and brooding instrumentals swathed in atmosphere, sounding like "Interpol, if they'd grown up in Old Trafford and not Queens", as one local journalist quite aptly put it.
'Well we were at a club the other week,' starts Ben laughing, 'And Interpol came on, so all the kids went rushing to the dancefloor and John was like, "Whose this?" and I say, "Oh it's Interpol…"' 'You mean "It's Interpol,"' corrects John, mimicking a look of disgust. 'But honestly… I don't know.'
The band may find it all hard to pin down, but enough labels have been bandied about – post-punk, post-rock (which the group ended up having to look up on Wikipedia) – and enough references made. In the end, John shrugs; 'It's whatever comes out really.' He pauses. 'We've always been into melody haven't we? Good melody is important in any song, and that's the case with the instrumentals – you don't have to have singing in it, if it's not needed.'
'Music can speak for itself sometimes,' agrees Ben. 'But I suppose it's just about our experiences. There are a lot of thinly veiled references to us going out. 'The Driver' goes "to love, to live, to learn" and just those words can sum up a person's life to an extent, and I think those fewer words are better than making it too obvious, letting people have their own definitions and meanings for it rather than specific lyrics like this…' the bassist pokes a finger up at the bar's speakers, currently piping a new Arctic Monkeys song, he continues;
'We're never gonna be one of those bands on the NME tour, targeted at 14-16 year olds. Our music is broader than that; we're not a fashion band.' John protests ('Hey!') at being deemed unfashionable, but it's ok, because Autokat have proven themselves stubborn as a senior band on the Manchester band, knocking around for as long as you would care to remember, starting with the legendary DIY organisations of label / promoters Akoustik Anarkhy. 'They know how to put on a good party,' John smiles. 'We've been with them since the beginning and the ideas they have are the same are ours really, just putting on and playing parties where people really get into it. It hasn't changed that much – now there are lots of good nights and bands around.'
Moving on for Dave's sake (who wasn't involved way back then), we look ahead to Autokat's next offering. Late Night Shopping's seventh chase, 'Innocence' flails with police-siren-urgency behind a distant, disparate and desperate voice, and will no doubt be an exhilarating introduction to many newcomers as the boys promote it up to June. 'It'll be a double-A side with a new track,' explains John. 'Something a bit different so that people might actually want to buy it. It's about five minutes long so you get good value.'
And with each new release, radio session and far-flung gig, a well-matured secret is becoming exposed. Taking your time to take a band like this to heart is truly rewarding, and now they've an album to worthily spend long days and nights with. Just be wary that Autokat don't become your full-time occupation before it is the band members' themselves…
LATE NIGHT SHOPPING * joint album of the week * :: Autokat :: 05 March 2007 / Akoustik Anarkhy / 11 Trk CD By JA
Autokat come out brandishing one of Manchester’s most accomplished albums so far. If you count the band as firmly on an independent label, it’s astounding that a collection this good could emerge from a redundant warehouse in Ancoats. But isn’t that what Manchester is all about?. Invention rising from decay, innovation emerging from literal wastelands. In a city where at least two camps constantly wage war (Fashion-house indie Vs. ‘Sneercore’ alt.rock with electronica caught in the crossfire) Autokat sidestep the bickering and get on with the construction of a landscape that celebrates instrumentals (“Dealy”) as well as studying the rich heritage of the Chameleons and The Fall. “Late Night Shopping” is a polite affair at times, gentle, but not afraid to administer the odd ear ravaging. With the bulk of their previous singles and b-sides present, the band have sensibly included tracks that are definitely too good to miss off. Hence “The Driver”, “Shot” and “Dish Out” are all here. Sorely missed is “Television” which would have provided a beefy addition and a deserved twelfth track.
“Bowling” is a haunting ethereal swing of shimmers and city bound echoes, whilst “Innocence” is easily another single that borrows its structure from both The Banshees and The Buzzcocks – all of sudden they come up with “Fill Your Cup” which seems like Kasabian and Primal Scream actually playing something decent – it’s a high point that easily convinces that this band should be on a major – not that I would want to ruin the symbiotic marriage of minds that Autokat and Akoustik Anarkhy have accomplished. “Late Night Shopping” is a lesson to us all – it can be done all yourself and the results can be entirely convincing.
MMMM
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With Late Night Shopping Autokat have delivered a classic Mancunian debut: sonically exciting, fully realised and bursting with swagger. Such arresting angular post-punk deserves a wide audience and this release could well be the one that pushes the very reliable Akoustik Anarkhy to the next level.
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Autokat Late Night Shopping
Manchester making waves again....
Hailing from that musical hotbed of Manchester, where something in the water (or else the drugs) seems to generate such fantastic and inspired music, Autokat are yet another in a long line of talented artists to emerge from it’s rainy suburbs. In that very typically Mancunian, insular way of trusting more to themselves than an outsider, Autokat recorded this album practically by themselves in their practice room. The results are nothing short of impressive.
In terms of influence, it’s easy to single out Radiohead and some of the early work of the Cure, but there’s also a feel of the early Verve and a subtle nod towards the feedback driven scene of early nineties shoegazing. They demonstrate a range of variety that offers us the excellent, mournful ‘Bowling’, where the endlessly delayed and screaming guitar fits seamlessly over the more moody, gentler strumming of the acoustic guitars in the background. Following track ‘Innocence’ showcases a different side to Autokat, it’s more upbeat and reminiscent of Television, Magazine or Wire. The band have ideas and the ability to realise them too, which set them apart from the more popular indie drivel of the moment. The instrumental tracks ‘Dealy’ and ‘Uber Patriot’ go a bit further to show this, they prove the musicianship the band are capable of and the scope and depth of their ideas.
In essence this is just a very good, strong, cultured album. It bodes very well for the band for the future and continues Manchester’s fine musical tradition. Good stuff.
By Steven Fanning
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As intense and eminently danceable as Interpol and the best of Bloc Party, this album is sinister, dark and very inventive. New single 'Shot' kicks off the album in fine style - the abrasive guitars and edgy, reverb-heavy vocals recall Kasabian, whilst the squawking breakdown hints that they're as unhinged as The Cooper Temple Cause used to be. There's shadowy Mansun-esque indie, bleak Joy Division miserablism and a couple of rather blissful instrumentals. Perfect for gloomy winter nights, this is another feather in the cap of Manchester's finest indie label. 4/5 Gavin Cooke.
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Autokat - 'Late Night Shopping' (Akoustik Anarkhy)
"a tour de force and a strong debut..." 4/5
by Mark Fielding on 08/03/2007
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.
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It’s rare you get a ‘sleeper’ act these days; a band that break through without being hideously overexposed in the process, or as Morley puts it, “one of those things (that) creeps up on you, and become a little more special.” Perhaps Autokat can do it. Their debut album, ‘Late Night Shopping’ is due out on March 5th 2007, and the blog fraternity at large aren’t exactly frothing at the mouth in anticipation of its release. This is no bad thing, as you will be able to stumble upon them without ridiculous expectations, and with any luck, like me, you’ll be suitably blown away. Read Full Article
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Autokat mix indie rock with post rock to create a dark and ultimately impressive debut.
The band has already earned a good deal of praise from the likes of The Guardian and The Independent and you can see why the broadsheets are on board: this is an ambitious, intelligent record. ‘Late Night Shopping’ has the same cynically urban feel as the likes of Bloc Party and they wear this firmly on their sleeve. Right from the album’s title (which is apparently in reference to kids going out on the rob at night, not the 24hr Tesco) the claustrophobia of city life is thrust upon you both sonically and lyrically.
More often than not they get it right, switching effortlessly from punky, dancy guitar music to more elegant post rock. There are highlights throughout, including the layered guitar and thrashy ending of ‘Shot’, the drumming on the slightly more melodic ‘Get Off The Bar’ and the punk vocal of ‘Innocence’ to name three. Elsewhere, ‘Seven Years’ is the story of a broken man who is “off his face / without a clue how he’s got here” told with chiming guitars and on ‘Dish Out’ they are at their most like Bloc Party (in a good way).
..when Autokat go for more of a post rock sound on the likes of ‘Bowling’ and the broody ‘Fill Your Cup’ they manage to pull that off too. The post punk of ‘Frantic Below’ is a suitably schizophrenic conclusion to an album that straddles genres without losing cohesion.
What the likes of Bloc Party or Kasabian had on their debuts that Autokat lack is straight up pop songs – there is no ‘Helicopter’ or ‘Banquet’, nothing as radio-friendly as ‘Club Foot’ or ‘L.S.F.’ – but in many ways this is entirely to their credit, as they opt instead for the more challenging. The most obvious example of the ambition of the record is ‘Bowling’. Instead of the middle of the road ballad it could easily have become, it is actually a gorgeous post rock dream of a song. Read Full Article
Defiantly lo-fi in its production and high energy in its realisation, it has the kind of intelligent punk-indie sound that aA bands seem to excel at. As passionate as The Longcut without the desolation and as intense as Nine Black Alps without the volume, it is an album of solid tunes, twisting rhythms and sharp lyrics.
It also has a wonderful obtuseness that only endears it to you more. Good as the spiky opener Shot, the epic live favourite Fill Your Cup or The Driver’s thrilling twists are, it’s actually the two instrumentals, Dealy and Uber Patriot, which steal the show. Chris Long. Read full article
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Impressive and very nearly impeccable debut from the manchester indie post rockers.
Autokat might not be a name that's familiar to a lot of you, but if this sharp taster of the band is anything to go by, that could all be about to change. All the finest elements of indie-pop combined in one easy little package (wry lyrics, chugging guitars with the odd John Squire-esque riff and hook after hook), this deserves to be massive.
Inventive and with a flow lacking in the current climate of The View and Razorlight, there's something promising about Autokat. The rippling guitars that give Late Night Shopping its gloriously fluid feel (particularly promising in the dreamy 'Dealy'), the ghostly backing vocals, the stop/start rhythms of 'Get Off The Bar', there are many great ideas at work here. It's not exactly anything new, but it's extremely well-executed, and there's flair and joy here that make it difficult to resist. Late Night Shopping is far from perfect, though, with closing track 'Frantic Below' seeming to take a fortnight to make its point, and the 'We've-heard-of-The-Strokes-you-know' indie by numbers of 'Innocence' being particular bones of contention, but this is an intriguing, often very inventive album which is worth hearing for the sublime 'Bowling' alone. Autokat are not quite superstar tradesmen yet, but the potential is certainly there. Definitely a band to keep an eye on.
If you've ever been late night shopping, you know what an ordeal it can be: the evening gives way to an onslaught of organised purchasing anarchy that manages to halt even the best-made plans. The banality of urban life is captured painfully well on Autokat's debut album: raw guitars and post punk-spiked beats offer up a raw slice of perfectly youthful paranoia. Signed to Manchester's revered label Akoustik Anarkhy, and recorded in guitarist Dave's front room, the music tears an effective picture of modern city life. Just a darker shade of pop. Although both opening track 'Shot' and 'Bowling' crescendo sinisterly alike to Bloc Party's 'Like Eating Glass' on 'Silent Alarm', their own originality is not lost. It is through their instrumentals that Autokat truly make a mark. Track 'Dealy' sews a developing melody well through trickling guitars, and the reverse intro of 'Uber Patriot'paints an altogether uneasy melody. All in all, 'Late Night Shopping' unveils itself to be an intelligent slab of post Britpop rock that smoulders in all the right places.
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In many ways Autokat's album title sums them up perfectly. To the naively innocent 'Late Night Shopping' means simply a trip to the local shopping centre out of normal hours, to the more street wise it means going out and thieving. It's these two diverse sides that Autokat appear to openly embrace; on the surface their songs gravitate to pop, all catchy beats and irresistible hooks but lurking beneath is a more menacing and sinister side to the music, giving this debut album from Manchester's up and coming act a promisingly enjoyable slice of indie magic. Opening proceedings with a wave of guitars and a relentless drum beat, 'Shot' finds Autokat in full darkly melodic stance, offering intelligent punk indie that twists and pounds energetically. From this Autokat manage to skilfully avoid the pitfalls of becoming just another guitar based post–Britrock band as they continue to unveil hit after melodic hit. Whilst the likes of 'Dish Out' finds the Mancunians in full energetic punk flow as they zoom by in a blur, 'Get Off The Bar' in turn brandishes sing along choruses and guitar solos that are begging to be unleashed on an arena stage. On top of this Manchester's best kept secret somehow manage to pull off a ballad that for all intents and purposes seems to be about bowling. A brilliantly genius metaphor or simply a song to prove that you can turn any subject matter into a great song, who knows, in reality 'Bowling' is a sombre little ditty that soon gets under your skin and into your heart. 'Innocence' on the other hand is a rampaging guitar fuelled stampede that bulldozes past, leaving in its wake the crashing drums and seething riffs of 'Fill Your Cup' that so perfectly captures the magic of the Manchester sound from the thickly accented vocals to the sinister pop fused beats.
Boldly marking itself out from the crowd, 'Late Night Shopping' is a debut album that forcefully throws Autokat to the lions as the band bravely includes two lyricless tracks. For any new band this can be seen as a daring move but coming from a band whose craft appears to be that of guitar driven rock, it openly parades for all the sheer confidence and esteem they hold their music in and whilst as first 'Dealy' and 'Under Patriot' look out of their depth, they soon find their footing showcasing Autokat as a band of confidently original musicians.
Boasting the swagger of Kasabian mingled with the alt rock intelligence of Bloc Party, Autokat fearlessly manage to straddle the rock arena and dancefloor simultaneously and with ease. 'Late Night Shopping' is the type of album to restore your faith in the British music scene. Recorded mainly in their rehearsal room, 'Late Night Shopping' is classically lo-fi and wonderfully back to basics, proving that great music doesn't need the backing of a huge record company to succeed. 10/13
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One of Manchester's best kept secrets, this is Autokat's rather special debut album. Dark yet upbeat throughout, it's bursting at the seams with talent and raw energy - and an all-too-rare ability not to shy away from melodious pop tunes, and to create tracks that people might actually want to dance to. Signed to the Akoustik Anarkhy label that brought us The Longcut and Nine Black Alps, this is one of those bands that inspires fierce loyalty, and whilst this record may not be musically as masterful as the Stone Roses' debut, it's certainly cut from the same weight of cloth. If there's any justice this lot should be household names by this time next year. 4/5
SHOT * recommended * :: Autokat :: 19 February 2007 / Akoustik Anarkhy / 2 Trk CD By JA
Autokat’s intelligent, cinematic landscapes paint pictures akin to driving rain battering urban landscapes. The sharp, jagged punctuations of “Shot” slip from luxurious but scrubby, echoed guitar notes to the grating, abrasive four chord scramble that glances knowlingly at Joy Division as it scurries up the walls in an escalating flurry of scraping enthusiasm. If Autokat had a middle name it’d be invention. “Seven Years” still possesses a heart of darkness, but with beguiling vocals, a pulsing, living beat and cascades of simple, ringing guitar notes – it’s almost too obvious, but Autokat make the simplest of ideas work in their favour, pulling darker shades of mood over the whole contagious plot.
MMMM ½
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Autokat ‘Shot’ (Akoustik Anarkhy). Been a fair while since we had a chance to dust down and hang out the celebratory bunting to mark the release of something tasty and new from Manchester’s esteemed Akoustik Anarkhy collective, but just like the London buses stick around long enough and two come parading out in quick succession. ‘Shot’ is the third outing no less for the very excellent Autokat, released just ahead of their debut full length slated for March - entitled ‘Late night shopping’. In addition to featuring the bands previous two nuggets (incidentally much celebrated here - well - have trumpet will blow)’Dish Out’ and ‘The Driver’ it opens with both the lead and flip cuts featured on this limited type single and before you all start accusing the Akoustik krew of playing the market then think again as these two cuties are right rippers providing the ensemble with their most directly potent outing to date. ‘Shot’ retunes itself straight for the heart of Devoto’s Magazine with a stunningly subtle side serving of Television accents, indelibly crafted and cured till smoking in late 70’s early 80’s post punk vibes, this slow burning atmospheric gem packs the kind of coalescing cool as f*ck swagger that makes the wearing of shades an essential accessory in heightening the listening experience, beset with all manner of pensively taut angular manoeuvres, ’Shot’ opens initially to an icily bare landscape slowly invading your defences like a virus to soon rupture, splinter and lacerate into a vicious white hot psychotic dynamo while all the time being fronted with one of the most casually delivered vocals this side of a certain Gallagher brother. Personally though the darker flip cut ‘Seven Years’ is the treat to be had here, literally wipes the floor with anything they’ve previous done to date, sounding like it could happily sneak onto the Soft Boys classic set ‘Underwater Moonlight’ without the purists even batting an eyelid. Frankly has everything courting with a mercurial melodic flair, it glides, it cuts and it stings, one minute leaving you bereft of hope the next overflowing with euphoria, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry all the time that warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of your stomach will grow ever more overwhelming and just to prove it’s a smart arsed bastard of a cut it comes blessed with the kind of audaciously deceptive hook that literally knocks you into next week - if you ask me it should be illegal. Joint Single of the Missive.
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Autokat - ‘Shot’ (Akoustic Anarkhy) Released 26/02/07 by Emily Gosling on 27/02/2007 - 4/5 Once again, Akoustic Anarkhy make a fine case in proving that anything North of Watford doesn’t necessarily equate to Oasis, madferit Gary Lagers and brown sauce. Autokat’s ‘Shot’, is, quite simply, beautiful. Scratchy, rasping guitars scutter over briskly determined drumming as the pulsating backdrop to their glorious fusion of the epic and the stunningly intimate. Their shimmering shroud of atmospherics makes this more than just a take-it-and-run of Joy Division’s (albeit marked) influence, but a gloriously poignant dance/cry psychosis. ‘Seven Years’s less abrasive meanderings is less immediate yet just as bristlingly morose with laments that “heaven is too late”. Audaciously piquant yet graceful, Autokat turn dark introspection outward, with a stunning stab to the heart of malignantly sinister pop-noir.
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With paranoid rhythms and dark disturbing melodies in abundance, Manchester band Autokat have a sound very much befitting of their home town but one that manages to soar above the rain-swept city streets to single them out as a potentially important part of the city's musical future. (CH)
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Dreamy, driving and devastatingly catchy, the glorious Autokat return with some more wondrously soul-searching post punk/rock - With a new album about to be released, it’s turning into a very exciting year indeed!
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Room Thirteen Autokat have already caught the attention of funny man Phill Jupitus who played three of their tracks on his radio show and went on to give them a rave review and if they carry on like this they won't be Manchester's best kept secret for much longer.
'Shot/Seven Years' provides us with a small taste of what we can expect from their debut album. These moody Mancunians have created something special with 'Shot' which is a track that cannot be missed, it's packed full of edgy guitars and reverb heavy vocals, and it's no wonder that they've decided to release it to promote the album.
Autokat are a prime example of what great musicians Britain has to offer. 12/13 - Tara Couper
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Getting an immediate thumbs up for their use of a kicking feline 'K', Autokat have been accruing NME inches like there's no tomorrow - with incendiary live shows and a malignant take on the age-old sinister pop agenda suggesting they're no white elephant. In a similar vein to last year's 'The Driver', the Manchester cabal know a catchy melody when they see one - chaining the endoscopic riff to a swelling backdrop of noir atmospherics and mantra vocals which build to a most pleasing conclusion. Appreciating the need for texture, the juxtaposition of moods contained within both 'Shot' and 'Seven Years' suggest Autokat are unlikely to disappear in a fug of dull introspection or indie blandness - preferring instead to fire straight for the heart, no matter how overcast it may be. Autokatic for the people...
Autokat - Shot 8/10 Commandingly barked vocals, taut funk guitars and powerhouse drumming, they recall The Music's mystic energy and get under the skin with indecent haste.
Channel 4, Teletext
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Autokat Dish Out (Akoustic Anarchy)
These Mancunian scamps are just fantastic - think Bloc Party without the earnest wibbly-wobbly worrying, Maximo Park without the disturbing ego gob, Hard-Fi raised on the Wedding Present instead of Paul Weller. Dish Out is a squalling guitar epic that gets better every time you hear it. If there's any justice, Autokat will sell more records than Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2006. Sadly they won't do it releasing piddly seven-inch singles. Fools.
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Autokat - Dish Out / Get Off The Bar [Akoustik Anarkhy Recordings] Dave R 10th May 2006
Another excellent 7" from Manchester's premier alternative guitar band Autokat. Following on from their last single The Driver which dropped exactly 12 months ago, the band return with two blasting tracks of direct angular indie and experimental rock that even surpasses their well-received debut.
A-side Dish Out starts off with a spiralling post rock riff that sound uncannily like fellow Mancunians The Longcut, before lurching straight into a mesmerising Kraut groove of driving guitars and chugging bass.
Get Off The Bar on the reverse side to this lavish 7" is the distant cousin to The Driver and portrays Autokat's more approachable angle. Starting off with an hypnotic guitar riff and infectious vocals, before launching into a crescendo of Explosions In The Sky meets Forward, Russia style riffage and wall of sound feedback.
Embarassing their peers with their unique sound, Autokat manage to mix both experimental guitars with infectious pop qualities, resulting in accessible songs that are bursting with originality, urgency and impact. To put it simply, this band are going to be massive.
Autokat follow up the defining “The Driver” with another slice of chiming guitars and landscaped sounds. “Dish Out” is direct, with a Mancunian mantra cast over the scattered guitars, themselves reined in by the distant call of vocal harmonies. It mixes lush sounds with lo-fi jangles, cutting itself into small epic jaunts, where the instrumental sequences are just as important as the vocal steer. “Get Off The Bar” is crammed with angular phrasing, descending bass lines and a firm beat that pushes ever forward to climatic cascades of edgy mountainous guitars. Autokat are refreshing, solely for the fact that they’re melodic but avoid being pop and they can crank up their guitars without playing rock ‘n’ roll games – instead their intelligent brand of avant-garde rock is original enough to shine brightly without any scene banners or genre pigeon holes. Recommended. MMMM
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Autokat- Dish Out
Fierce guitars and busy, intricate, riffs announce the arrival of Autokat. Having grown out of their bedroom studios, their new polished sound suits them best when the careening guitars soothe into the middle-eight, only to explode with a sloganeering chorus. One is reminded of fellow Mancunian noise pioneers the Longcut, and there are similarities in their vigorous life-affirming energy. After such powerful start, double A-side Get Off The Bar is left trailing in Dish Out's wake. The elongated surge of instruments in the song is reminiscent of early Radiohead, before they learned subtlety - which can only be a good sign after all.
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Autokat Dish Out Akoustik Anarkhy 7” Article written by Ged M May 30, 2006.
As any road nerd will tell you, Manchester is surrounded by M-roads – our very own autobahns. Autokat’s brilliant ‘Dish Out’ has the same krautrocking hypnotic guitar rhythms with some added Mancunian darkness. Like previous single, ‘The Driver’, this single doesn’t big itself up; it just invades your brain virally until you can’t get it out of your head. B-side ‘Get Off The Bar’, an atmospheric guitar fest with just a touch of ‘epic’ about it, pisses all over similar opposition (Bloc Party and the like). Don’t miss out on a special single.
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Autokat ‘Dish Out’ (Akoustik Anarkhy). .....following last years absolutely crucial debut ’The Driver’ which regular viewers to these pages will no doubt remember us falling flat on our faces in awe at - we still have the scars you know. Two new cuts no doubt stupidly limited in quantity - opening with ‘Dish Out’. The first that strikes you about this particular release - both tracks included here - is the production and style. There’s an almost indelible casualness in the air, that experimental ideology of ’anything can happen’ and that unnerving sense of ’where is this going’ that attached to their debut set ’The Driver’ has been diluted and refined in its place a smoothed streamlined chassis has been carved out revealing a stature that only emerges with confidence. The thoroughly laid back ’Dish Out’ is an immediately fetching slice of proto punk pyrotechnics played out at cruise control replete with succulent MOR harmonies and roving melodically light jangle some riff threads of the calibre you’d rightly expect the Stone Roses might have played had they discovered late 70’s / early 80’s new wave and a small bag of speed instead of late 60’s Byrds / psychedelics and e’s and all liberally dusted down with dashing of barbed angulated jabs - quite tasty if you ask us. That said though the real gem is to be found on the flip side where that stature and confidence we mentioned earlier manifests and translates itself superbly on the divinely sounding ‘Get off the bar’. By far the stronger and more melodically developed of the two cuts this cutie has more sexiness and slyly styled strutting street cool than all of NYC‘s feted underground put together. A simply numbing babe that prods and presses salaciously beset by a devilish hip hugging grind that 1.33 in suddenly explodes into a euphoria inducing stratospheric sound wall of surging shoe gaze like feedback that literally cuts you in half to be soaked in its aching grandeur. Joint single of the missive. FULL ARTICLE
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Single of The Month! Ooh, get you! Your debut single went down a storm so now you think you can restrict the follow-up to downloads and a limited edition 7” single only? Well, you bloody evil geniuses, it’s a brilliant idea, and an even better double A-side. Damn you! 'Dish Out' is as good as any track to grace 2006 so far, its measured overdrives juxtaposed with high-speed pickery and droning harmonies before the minor chords give way to major ones and fun is had by all. It’s like a hug after having been punched in the face. Tag team partner 'Get Off The Bar' is clearly the more sensitive sibling, with a delicate stop-start melody thoroughly complimented with mournful vocals. The inevitable leg drop comes in the form of a roaming prog moment that leaves as quickly as it arrived… and then does the same trick again. Brilliant. (Out 1st May). David Welsh
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Dish Out/ Get Off The Bar 7" They’re infectious little buggers these Autokat fellas from Manchester. These two tracks are both different and equally likeable. Dish Out gets off to a flyer and legs it through its 3min 56 secs. It sounds familiar on first listen although you’ll not know where from and it is a bouncy slice of choppy guitar indie with some nice harmonies and a catchy as hell chorus that you could quite imagine all over the radio daring you to dance. Get Off The Bar is a slower track built around a little guitar hook that weaves all the way though the song while everything else builds up around it and the singer sings “deep as you like, slip to a slide” and you get the distinct impression he’s not talking about white water rafting. This should come with a warning: It’ll get in your head. Cracking. Owen Anthony
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soundsxp's 2005 writers poll: autokat nominated ninth in best singles of 2005.
Single of the Week. Debuting on this hot new label in some style, Manchester's Autokat are already able to realise the kind of intelligent post-Britrock sound that only British Sea Power and few others seem to manage. "The Driver" pounds along, while the abrasive "Television" is angular artpunk at its best. 4/5.
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You know the story by now: a couple of Manc scenester types play a show at their mate's house and inadvertently spark off a whole new musical movement. Autokat are stepping out of the long shadow cast by former gigging buddies Nine Black Alps, and about time too. Charging straight off the starting blocks with relentless stomp of a new single, "The driver", their lo-fi titbits instantly whack you upside your head, shifting all the way from Super Furries weirdness into post-punk. Guitarist Andrew Rowley plays faster than Matt Bellamy on hyper-speed, causing mass eye-popping. Autokat's days of competing against a fridge full of booze for the crowd's attention are far behind them (Molly Jones)
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This was a gig on home soil for Akoustik Anarkhy faves Autokat and they certainly put on a great show for the ridiculously large crowd considering the size of the venue. The band are able to seamlessly skip from one genre to another without losing any of their power and raw enthusiasm, encapsulated in The Driver, which does exactly what it says on the tin. Autokat are at the minute, one of the best kept secrets in Manchester however they are surely on the verge of something great. (CN)
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This has been a long time coming. Autokat, as regular supporters of and performers at Akoustik Anarkhy, now have a release to back up their massive reputation, as the band everyone knows about but haven’t heard. The hypnotic, atmospheric verve of "The Driver" coils around a determined guitar loop and the ricocheted chimes of another churning six string. Against the marching beats, haunting vocals echo and seep, from every corner of the record. The whole plot warmly reaches a final critical, joyful mass. Backed up with the melodic harmonies of "Television", Autokat set the next tune against electric shock guitar cuts and a pummelling bass line. It's deliriously effective. Instead of writing a song about puppy love, "Television" seems to sum up despondency and agoraphobic obsessions, using the minimum of words : "I Never Go Out...Just Nowhere To Go...Television..My Decision". Abbreviated genius ? - If anyone's looking for the next generation of exciting young new bands, there's no better place to start than here.MMMM ½.
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In an ideal world, what should a song called 'The Driver' do? It should bloody well drive. And drive 'The Driver' does, starting out outside the same Manchester unsigned night that (we'll stop mentioning it soon) also spawned the Alps and The Longcut and tearing across the city at night, chanting a p*ssed-up-zen-like mantra ('To learn, to live, to love' as it happens) as it explores the great unknown in search of adventure with just a few Tubeway Army and Fall records for company. Addictive and sexy, despite sounding like it was recorded in a dustbin (DM).
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The nonchalantly avant-garde Akoustik Anarkhy Recordings let yet another adventurous act loose on the fair lands of Britain, the latest offerings being the Manchester collective known as Autokat. Split single starter, "The Driver", could have found itself soundtracking Lost In Translation if it were released two years ago, such is the engaging shoe-gazing My Bloody Valentine (albeit minus the discordance) nature of the song. "Television" proudly stamps Manchester all over itself without sounding like the Stone Roses, a commendable feat indeed. Instead the grunchy guitars play in a post-punk tempo that superficially disguises an underbelly of psychedelic melodies held together by varying drum patterns and dark vocal harmonies. Impressive.
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A definite one to watch this year are autokat who are one of manchesters best kept secrets. They come on in a rip-roaring beat driven gutiar psych kinda' way and are already getting props all over. These are going to fly so be quick. The akoustik anarkhy label does it again.
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Sounding like the Super Furry Animals laced with large amounts of cyanide, The Driver is the freshest independent release to come out of Manchester for some time, and lyrically, sums up the Autokat story so far. view full article
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This isn't your normal wannabe Gang of Four / Postcard head trip this is the sound of energetic frustration being barely carved out on an almost basic DIY serving tray, the caustic razor sharp scuzzy pop sound of a forgotten Liverpool scene (see 'Nah Poo' era Wah, Ellery Bop), all in all potent, powerful and perfect. Single of the Missive. view full article
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AUTOKAT have been skulking around the periphery of new band night Akoustik Anarkhy for donkey's years, but now seem ready to step into the limelight themselves. The Driver starts with a keyboard hook like 80s era The Who, then a bubbling bassline gently emerges. But the best bits arrive slightly later - echoing, layered new wave vocals and lightning flashes of guitars. At least as good as the latest singles from fellow graduates of the AA incubator, Longcut and Nine Black Alps.
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Waiting in the shadows of The Longcut and Nine Black Alps, Autokat are now ready to capitalise on the label's new high profile. Mantra-like lyrics echo back and forth under lo-fi guitars and a steady beat.It's the kind of track that makes you want to stick your head out of the car window to let the sunshine melt your eyes and the wind cut into your eardrums (LS).
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Reviews of aA album 'Class aA: Beyond entertainment'
'the first whiff of Factory we've smelt in a very, very long time' Dan Martin, NME
'...it’s your must-buy record for 2005 without a doubt : Sheer Class from Class aA'. 5/5 manchestermusic.co.uk
Autokat can trust aA and the aA crowd can trust in Autokat, usually to throw one hell of a party, and tonight was no different. Key tracks like “Got Myself a Gun” were fundamental to sending a room full of people insane. Autokat are more energetic than anyone in the Gardens Hotel should be and there’s a connection between what is played on stage and the ever more drunken crowd. Autokat write great songs, but the connection with the crowd seems out of the ordinary, it’s something very bands on a small level can execute so acutely. Akoustik Anarky’s midnight ramblings go on late into the night and hopefully everyone will remember what tonight was all about when they wake up with a hangover. Two great bands.
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