Autokat - Late Night Shopping

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

3...according to our Brian on Thu 01 Mar, 2007.

I was gonna review the Charlotte Hatherley album but accidentally fell into a coma. Or was it a comma? I'm a punctuation nazi you see. So I'll see if the AUTOKAT album on Akoustik Anarkhy fares any better. Front loading yer album with the single always bodes badly so lets see....the second track is the B-side from the single. So that's two tracks i already know. Good move guys! Yeah. Further investigation provides me with extended intros alternating between a couple of chords. Oh it's an instrumental, tightly executed & airily but ultimately nothing more than incidental music for a short film about a hedgehog pulling bits of string out of it's quills. This is riff led indie by numbers that sounds a bit like The Longcut & a million other semi commercial & blandish bands with little to say. I've heard every chord change a thousand times, the vacuous lyrics about 'a feeling' make me think of Hard-Fi and if it wasn't for the fact the Dalek & Murder by Death albums & virtually everything else I've been given this week had something valid & interesting to say, I'd be thoroughly depressed about this CD. "An emotional & intellectual void" comments our Anthony.

Late Night Shopping’ is the superb debut album from Manchester’s Autokat and also the first artist album for Manchester’s influential collective/label Akoustik Anarkhy (aA), who first introduced us to highly acclaimed
Manchester bands such as The Longcut, Nine Black Alps and Harrisons.
So, after nearly a decade of club nights and parties, the driving force of the rejuvenated sound of Manchester’s underground comes to a head with this album. Described by the band as a tense, turbulent album born from the paranoia of urban life and the hangover of too much partying. Add to that the influence of Wire, Magazine and The Chameleons and there you have it, ’Late Night Shopping’ is an indie-rock classic in waiting.
The album follows two 7" singles released over the last year to great acclaim from anyone who could get their hands on a copy. First single ‘The Driver’, with its infectious lyrical mantra, "To learn, to live, to love", was Single Of The Week at Rough Trade stores and in the Independent newspaper "angular artpunk at its best" 5/5. While second single - ‘Dish Out’, a slice of raw, energetic punk met with similar plaudits "These Mancunian scamps are just fantastic...they get
better and better with each listen." Guardian
The singles are accompanied by pulsating live favourites Fill Your Cup and Innocence which work their way under your skin with each listen. The album kick-starts with ‘Shot’ and ‘Seven Years’ (to be released as a double A-side single two weeks before the album) and while the album retains a level of intensity, instrumental tracks ‘Dealy’ and ‘Uber Patriot’ provide room to breathe.
The sound they achieve is both melodious and sinister, poppy yet dark and as NME put it: "Sleek’n’sexy post-rock with one foot firmly on the dancefloor.
- "Autokat are already able to realise the kind of intelligent post- Britrock sound that few others seem able to manage." The Independent
LP limited to 500 only.

Tracklist:
1. Shot 2. Seven Years 3. Dealy 4. Dish Out 5. Get Of the Bar 6. Bowling 7. Innocence 8. Fill Your Cup 9. Uber Patriot 10. The Driver 11. Frantic Below

5...according to Marc.

To be honest I only bought this album on the recommendation of a friend and at first just thought it to be so so. However, after about the 3rd listen i totally fell in love with it and felt obliged to recommend it to as many people as possible. It genuinely is something a little different and the musicianship and breadth of ideas crammed into this album are incredible. Highly recommended!

5...according to Christian.

I'm really enjoying this album and have seen several positive reviews of it. First album I've bought in a while you can let play from start to finish without skipping. Has a nice flow and diversity to it and the two instrumentals are a nice touch. Can't recommend highly enough.

Rating: 5 out of 5

So, what do you think? Best reviewer each month gets £10 off their next order!