ALBUM REVIEW: Music That Humans Can Play – Autogramm
Power-pop quartet AUTOGRAMM are back with their latest full-length album Music That Humans Can Play. The band themselves – who all come from a collection of other bands and projects like DESTROYER, BLOOD MERIDIAN and LONDON’S LOYALTIES – aimed to make this record something that you could easily slot in alongside other albums in your 80s collection, a feat which they succeed in as here they have produced something that feels nostalgic and leaves you feeling happy.
As the album opens with Born Losers, the listener is immediately greeted by an electronic intro that then shifts into a catchy alternative pop-rock track that has feels very reminiscent of the movie soundtracks of the 80s, with films like The Breakfast Club and Back To The Future coming to mind. What further adds to the charm are the self-deprecating yet feel-good lyrics that leave you feeling better about yourself.
Of course, the opener isn’t the only track that could easily sneak into an 80s rock playlist with little resistance, as we see on the feel-good Hey Allie, yet you can also hear influences from much earlier eras of pop and rock music. For example, Love Is For Fools is an anthemic rock track that not only takes influences from the 80s, but you can also hear parts that bring to mind the 60s and 70s, while Always Gonna Be My Girl, which is the only slow track on the album, appears to be very much inspired by THE BEATLES. There is even a moment where the band combine an 80s synth beat with punk on the appropriately titled Plastic Punx.
Music That Humans Can Play is a fun album to be sure, but admittedly there are moments where things become a little cheesy and stereotypical, such as Why Do We Dance that uses pop synths that you’ve likely heard repeatedly in different places, although the catchy lyrics and rhythm makes it easy to forgive this. There’s also a weird moment during Westbound that starts out as a bouncy synth pop-rock song that then slows down to an odd beat, going against what the intro set up and leaving the listener confused, but thankfully things do speed up again appropriately when we get to the first chorus.
To be sure, Music That Humans Can Play is purely a pop-rock album that, while a little cheesy, leaves you with a smile on your face and will have you entertained the whole time. It’s a nice piece of positivity that everyone could do with listening to at least once.
Rating: 7/10
Music That Humans Can Play is out now via self-release.
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