This is a Fix - The Automatic in interview

Welsh band The Automatic were the sensation of 2006 - in the UK at least. The band, after several succesful tours including the prestigious NME New Music Tour, released their debut album 'Not Accepted Anywhere', only to find, thanks to two very succesful singles Raoul and Monster, that quite the opposite was true. Monster in particular took on a life of its own, migrating - in the best tradition of britpop - to the football terraces. The sound on their first album mixed pop and rock to great effect - they won best newcomers awards from both The Pop Factory and Kerrang, for example.

One element of the band's sound was defining/an annoying distraction, depending upon your view point. It was the high-pitched hardcore-style screaming of keyboards player Alex Pennie (Drowned in Sound reviewer, Dom Gourlay,famously described it as "unnecessary [...] just a tad irritating - bordering on the side of wanting to commit homicide - at the best of times" .

It's an element that is missing from The Automatic as they release their second album This is a fix. By mutual consent Pennie left the band - he had, it seems wanted to leave for some time - and yourcodenameismilo lead vocalist Paul Mullen joined the ranks as rythm guitarist and backing vocalist.

This particular monkey has had the lead single from the album, Steve McQueen blasting through his speakers happily for more than a month now, so the obvious thing to do seemed to be to have a chat with band vocalist/bass player Rob Hawkins:

TMO: How difficult was it writing the 'difficult second album' for you?

Writing the second album was relatively easy! It was hard to stop. It had been over two years since we'd written Not Accepted Anywhere by the time we started writing for This Is A Fix, so we had a massive build-up of ideas. We'd spent years on the road, growing as musicians and as people too (we were only eighteen and nineteen when we got signed), so we really enjoyed the opportunity to explore what we could do as musicians. Paul joining the band gave us an extra singing voice and guitar to play with and even allowed us to swap roles for some songs. This Is A Fix definitely reflects the additional vocal and guitar that Paul brought - most of the songs are very layered and dense, there aren't many sparse moments.

How has Pennie's leaving the band affected morale, and the way the band sound?

Pennie leaving was a good thing for band morale. He'd wanted to leave for a long time and that created a lot of tension within the band and crew; it's hard to be a happy band when three members want to be a part of it and one doesn't. He didn't want to do what he did within the band and make the music that we made. When Pennie decided to leave, and we all agreed that he'd tour with us until we'd fulfilled all our live commitments, there was a sense of relief - the worst thing is the sense of limbo you get from not knowing how things are going to pan out. We're happier now and so is Pennie, he's working on his own projects now. I think Pennie leaving had less of an impact than Paul joining. Obviously, his screaming went with him, but Pennie was not too involved in composing whereas Paul is much more active in that.

TMO: Whether it's the Stone Roses, Oasis or more recently the Arctic Monkeys, it seems that when a band is huge in the UK it rarely translates on the same scale abroad - particularly in America. Why do you think that is? And given the choice, would you prefer success in the UK or America?

America is the size of a continent, you could fit five UKs into Texas alone. The scale is probably part of the reason: it's hard to spend the time and effort required to succeed across the pond if you're in demand in the UK as well! Also, a lot of the bands you've just mentioned are very British sounding. The Artic Monkeys had a song called Mardi Bum that doesn't mean much to people from south of Birmingham, let alone in the States! I don't care where we have success if it means that we can keep making music and touring. This is my dream job, as long as I can keep doing it then I'm happy! Having said that, it'd be fun to be big in the US..

TMO: Monster was one of those songs that captured people's imaginations, and in a sense became bigger than just a song. What makes the difference between a good song and a great one?

I think it's easy to confuse 'good' and 'popular'. Obviously, Monster was both, haha! The key to popularity is often simplicity - something that can be remembered instantly. On the other hand, most of my favourite songs take a few listens to get into. Monster's appeal was in its dancey edge, rock guitars, strong imagery and above all else, simple and infectious hook. It appealed to kids, rock fans and pop fans because of those things. As for the difference between a good song and a great song, opinion is probably the biggest one!

Is it a curse or a blessing, to have a song that becomes an anthem, like Monster?

It's only a good thing. It's very flattering that our song has been so assimilated into the public consciousness! I don't understand why some bands resent their own success, it seems kind of masochistic and hypocritical. We wouldn't have had the opportunity to record our second album in LA if Monster hadn't sold so many records! Despite that, it's surprising how many people know Monster but don't know who wrote it..

TMO: The new single, Steve McQueen, is a cracking song - what was the thinking behind the title?

I'm glad you like it! The lyrics to Steve McQueen are the last of a load of lyrics about growing up in (and wanting to get out of) a small town. The Steve McQueen reference is about escape. And also, he's really, really cool! The song, lyrically, is a look back after having left home and where I grew up and realising that I'm not a part of that place and it's not a part of me anymore.

TMO: You're one of those rare things, a band fronted by a bass player. How much does that shape the band's sound?

Not very much! We write the music first, then the vocals get put on afterwards, so for one part of the writing I'm a bassist (or whatever I'm playing on the song), then I'm a singer. And then I have to learn to do the two things at once, which is sometimes tricky! I try not to let the fact that I have to do both interfere with either one.

TMO: The band are from Wales. What kind of influence has that had on the songs you write? To put it another way, do you think you would have written songs like monster, raoul and steve mcqueen if you'd grown up in London?

That's an impossible question to answer! Perhaps in a parallel universe there's an Automatic that grew up in London that sound like the Libertines... Growing up in the small town we grew up in there wasn't really a music scene, so we did our own thing without being particularly influenced by anyone else. A lot of south Wales bands are heavily influenced by an American emo sound and I think that we took a heavy element from that. I think that growing up in relative isolation from any particular scene, though, allowed us to develop our sound to become the band we are now.

TMO: The lyrics to the songs are, with few exceptions, dark. Would you agree with the idea, as expressed by Irish songwriter Glen Hansard to Three Monkeys, that songwriting is basically a healing process - that you can't write a great song if you're happy?

I do tend to write about things that piss me off, so probably yes..I don't think that contentedness inspires passionate lyrics. Part of the lyric writing process is about putting a thought process on paper and I find that part very satisfying. It's cathartic to write through something that you really care about, especially something personal. I guess I agree with Glen Hansard, although I don't think you have to be personally unhappy to write a great song.

TMO: Billy Bragg invited you recently to play on his anti-racism bill at Glastonbury. How did that come about?

We've done a few things with his charity, Jail Guitar Doors, and it came out of that. I've always been keen to help charities and good causes, as I'm very aware of how lucky I've been in my own life and I want to use my situation to further good causes.

TMO: Bragg is an overtly political writer - as are a band you've mentioned in various interviews, Future of the left. Where do the automatic stand on politics in songwriting? Thea Gilmore, in interview with Three Monkeys said “I think that anybody, not just musicians, who plays an active role in society has a duty to be political” - do you agree?

No. At least, not necessarily in a professional capacity. My favourite band is/was Million Dead, who were about as political as you can get. I love The Clash, Refused, and Rage Against The Machine too, and I've been inspired to look up issues and read books on politics and philosophy by their lyrics. I'm very interested in what goes on in the world, but people have problems enough in their own lives and The Automatic never set out to make people think about extra ones. The world would be a much poorer place without people like Bragg writing to try to raise people's consciousnesses, but equally, people need escapism. Our songs are not a-political but the main focus is on fun. The most political songs on This Is A Fix are also the most veiled in imagery. I'm ruling out nothing in the future, but if we're going to write more politically then it would have to be on topics that we all care about deeply and feel the same way on.

TMO: As you've probably guessed, we're interested in the whole process of songwriting here at Three Monkeys. Can you point us to a song you wished you'd written, and explain why?

The medley from the South Park movie. It's funny, bombastic and brilliant. The music nerd in me is in awe of the way the melodies from all the constituent songs wind together with each of the chorus lines emerging in turn. The orchestration is amazing. I'd feel pretty pleased with myself if I'd written that with a choir and orchestra to play with!

TMO: What band(s)/artist(s) has been the most important influence on the band?

There is no one band or artist that's been an overriding influence on all four members of The Automatic. The three of us that grew up together all listened (and still listen) to Blur, The Manic Street Preachers, Radiohead, Muse, The Cooper Temple Clause and others. We covered (badly!) songs by all of the above as well, and learnt something as musicians or took something unique from all of them. We all listen to a huge variety of music and it all contributes to what we write in some way. The two CDs I've had on repeat recently are Alopecia by Why? and Roadkill Overcoat by Busdriver. How they will manifest themselves as an influence on our music, I don't know! Sorry I couldn't really answer this question, I'm just being honest!