Super Unison
Auto
(Deathwish Inc.)
When Punch broke up, the world lost one of the most relevant and smart voices in an often abusively dumb genre. With her new project, vocalist and bassist Meghan O’Neil Pennie brings with her a kind of precision and brevity to an adjacent “smarter” genre that too often goes on too long without much to really say. Pennie is joined by drummer Justin Renninger(Snowing) and guitarist Kevin DeFranco on this debut album.
Auto maintains a near constant tempo and most of the tracks run between two to three minutes a piece with the exception of the title track and album closer which nearly touches five minutes. Yet, despite the frantic pace and short run time, the album drags overall. There is plenty to love here as Renninger pummels the drums with well timed snare rolls and cymbal hits that give way into comfortable tom rumbles and hi-hat sizzling; taking on every twist and turn with seeming ease. DeFranco flips through a variety of textures and tones, sounding his best when he’s slicing through the rhythm section with his most John Reis inspired riffs; taking “Luxury” for example. However, the constantly changing guitar tones get so watery at times that there’s not enough to hold onto through every sudden twist. Pennie shifts restlessly from muttering to teasing sing-song vocals to pitched shouts and full-on screams, but the guitar and drum heavy mix renders most of the lyrics indecipherable and her bass playing is lost almost completely under heavy floor tom and warbling guitars.
Fundamentally the songs are there, it surpasses many screamo and post-hardcore bands tendencies to simply stapling together riffs. There is a direct through line from beginning to end that sets a hypnotic gaze on you, but too much is lost in the wash of guitar sounds. The unrelenting pace also means there’s little air left in the room for each part to breathe, instead of winding up to a breaking point, the songs blur together into a less effective, steadily eroding stream.
Purchase Auto here: Physical | Digital
