Review Summary: Autolux are back with a smoother, more deconstructed sound, yet this is as powerful as their guitar-driven debut.
After 2004′s Future Perfect, Autolux’s monster of a debut album, the new kings (and queen) of modern shoegaze (or whatever you call it) are back, and it was all worth the 6 years wait. With Transit Transit, the band continues to elaborate a heavily experimental sound, this time more *-la Radiohead than My Bloody Valentine.
The first single, “Supertoys” is kind of a “gateway song” from one album to another, since it’s more guitar-driven than the rest of the songs yet more mellow than most of the tracks on Future Perfect. For those wondering if Carla Azar left the groovy grooves for smoother rhythms, you will be extremely delighted with tracks such as “Audience No. 2″ and “Census”. Really, it’s a drummer’s heaven. (check out the tricky paradiddle in the first one!)
“Transit Transit” is a great opener, very representative of the album’s overall sound, in a non-rhythmic, experimental kind of way. The fantastic “Highchair” is the proof that Autolux is a band with a lot of talent and potential. They make you feel emotions such as “holy ***, this is amazing” and “this is… ***ing good” kinda sighs. It’s a very silent appreciation, like your brain was trying to understand the magnificent grandeur of the arrangements.
The dreamy atmosphere on “Spots”, Goreshter’s massive fuzz bass on the bouncing “Kissproof”, the aptly-titled “Headless Sky” (you’ll see why), all of those songs have a little something that make them extremely enjoyable after a few listens, when you’re getting used to the complicated sound of the album.
All in all, Transit Transit is a mind-blowing album, just like its predecessor, only this time the emphasis is put on ambiance and atmosphere rather than raw energy. This is great music, not for everyone though. It’s far too deconstructed to become mainstream, but again, we need more artists like that. Fellas, this is a serious contender for album of the year, all categories included.
