Originally published by L.S. Media. March 27th 2010.

The band that became a phenomenon at the start of the summer of 2006 came back to Birmingham for the first time in a while and turned a damp British evening into a night of high energy and hot, steamy excellence.

The Automatic opened the night with the single Interstate from the recently released album Tear the Signs Down before giving the energetic crowd their first taste of the superb lyrics and frenzied guitar playing that would dominate the evening’s set list with the superb Recover and internaly angst ridden and certain journalistic bashing Magazines.

The working relationship between the two front men, Paul Mullen and Robin Hawkins seems as strong as ever and the band as a whole give the impression of being relaxed on stage and comfortable in their own unique ability.

A couple of songs from the new album got an airing early into the set as the crowd was wowed with the wonderful Run and Hide and the bouncy Race to the Heart of the Sun.

Some bands have in the past, shied away from playing the songs that made them household names in the first place, seeing them as millstones around their neck and do whatever they can to distance themselves away from the past. Not so The Automatic, as they played their 2006 hit Monster to great delight to the assembled audience.

Other tracks played on a great night’s worth of entertainment were This is a fix, Can I Take You Home and the jaw dropping Cannot be Saved.

The guys finished a memorable night with the brilliant Steve McQueen.

The Automatic are still one of the most exciting young bands to be on the circuit, dedicated to their audience’s needs and thankful for the great response they get in return.

Ian D. Hall