Automagik

Commercially overloaded freak-out pop rock is what Automagik offer up on their debut self titled album. The all night party vibe that props up tunes like “Hide and Seek” and “Brain Freeze”, make the chaos head bobbing-jump around fun. Nonsensical lyrics, I won’t even go into “Boogieman”, and all-out good times remind of Cage The Elephant, The Darkness and Weezer. The tracks won’t stick with you for long, but will probably fuel Four Loco like madness while they do.

The slick sounding keyboards, guitars and hyperactive drums swirl over some well placed vocal soaring; drug fueled lyrical outputs seem to be the norm but in wondrous as opposed to depressing ways. While this may be the sound of trying to score an I-pod ad, this talented group from Cincinnati certainly has the stuff (“Teleportation Blues” and “Starchild”) to get the called up to the big leagues. - Shawn Donohue, GLIDE MAGAZINE

Commercially overloaded freak-out pop rock is what Automagik offer up on their debut self titled album. The all night party vibe that props up tunes like “Hide and Seek” and “Brain Freeze”, make the chaos head bobbing-jump around fun. Nonsensical lyrics, I won’t even go into “Boogieman”, and all-out good times remind of Cage The Elephant, The Darkness and Weezer. The tracks won’t stick with you for long, but will probably fuel Four Loco like madness while they do.

The slick sounding keyboards, guitars and hyperactive drums swirl over some well placed vocal soaring; drug fueled lyrical outputs seem to be the norm but in wondrous as opposed to depressing ways. While this may be the sound of trying to score an I-pod ad, this talented group from Cincinnati certainly has the stuff (“Teleportation Blues” and “Starchild”) to get the called up to the big leagues. - Shawn Donohue, GLIDE MAGAZINE

If you’re a fan of flailing, rocking out, and squealing vocals, look no further than Automagik.

The fairly young band out of Cincinnati made a rough racket at Side Bar when they played the SXSW Music Festival this year. Their noise brought in people off the street (and from the back patio), but it’s their excessive onstage energy that kept audiences in the room. There was never a shortage of flailing and hair flips, it was almost exhausting just to watch them.

We picked up their album, Black Sundae, a fun trek down youthful clamor. But it’s their over-the-top live presence that will really make you feel young and fearless. These guys need to play the Replay. Stat. - I Heart Local Music

If you like the brazen rock 'n' roll stylings of local group Foxy Shazam, and the disco-y Scissors Sisters, check out Cincy's Automagik. Lead singer Zachary Evans sings in falsetto and rivals Sisters' Jake Shears and Shazam's Eric Nally swagger. Songs from their "Black Sundae" LP exude funk and rock, especially on the track "I'm Only 21": "I'm only 21 / I just wanna have some fun," Evans sings. Well, if you love fun, too, these guys are for you. - Cincinnati.com

Cincinnati’s Automagik formed in 2010 the demise of vocalist Zachary Evans and lead guitarist Devin Williams’ old prog-rock band The Javelin Dance. In contrast to their old project, Evans and Williams wanted to make Automagik reflect their own goofy and energetic vibes. Thus far, they’ve released two full-length albums and are now gearing up for an EP called Beach Fuzz, out later this year.

Despite their lively shows and spirited recordings, Automagik have yet to “make it” in their own eyes. Five years of pursuing success can be grueling, and the band is channeling these frustrations with the decidedly self-aware new single, “Fucked Up”.

“After years of shows and countless hours on the road only to be let down by failed attempts to ‘make it,’there comes a point where you ask yourself, ‘What the fuck does “making it” even mean and why do I bother to keep chasing this big fat illusive magic dragon of disappointment?’” Evans says of the song. “There’s a whole army of musicians, dreamers and entrepreneurs out there who share that mindset at one time or another, and ‘Fucked Up’ is the anthem of the frustrated. The battle cry for the not-quite-theres. It’s also a satirical look at just how whiny and discontent we all can be at times.”

Even though the song is remarkably candid, it doesn’t lose any of the band’s trademark infectious sound. After a moody introduction with watery guitars, the song quickly escalates into an arena anthem. Evans voices sounds more sarcastic than solemn, imploding at the end with a rant of “I want to fucking die/ I hate the world/ Fuck everything/ Fuck you and your whole family/ And I hope that the whole world gets hit by a fucking meteor and we all burn to death.” It’s brutally honest, exceptionally absurd, and completely true to Automagik. Listen in below. - Consequence of Sound

Known for blending edgy pop with upbeat rock 'n' roll, Automagik's latest single, "Pop Kiss," sonically illuminates the hazy propitiousness of summer, embellished with lyrics contemplating the folly of boundless love.

Zachary Evans, the vocalist and guitarist for the Cincinnati-based band, explains that "[Pop Kiss] is about having strong, intoxicating feelings for another person—feelings that are so intense, fresh, and exciting that they cannot be conveyed through words." Speaking for the five-piece as a whole, he continues, "Instead, [the emotions] are projected in fragmented, semi-conscious streams of thought that describe the mind-altered state of affection."



Staying true to the themes of fragmentation and surrealism, the group backs the track with a music video, which is streaming exclusively above, that features men sporting high heels, spaceships spiraling through a galaxy of winged llamas, hand-lettered words, and swirls of bubblegum pink and canary yellow.

Although it was filmed and directed by Roman Luck of Beautiful Day Visuals, the video is also filled with Evans' illustrations, which were inserted during post-production. Partially inspired by Japanese graphic designer and artist Tadanori Yokoo, Evans notes that the illustrations "took a bit of love, flower power, positivity, and 1960s philosophies, and projected them through the modern pop-rock kaleidoscope that is Automagik."

"Pop Kiss" will be included on the band's forthcoming EP Beach Fuzz. "We've been through some tough times in the recent years, and music was our cathartic outlet for those tough times," Evans says in regard to the amplified sentimentality heard within the band's new songs. With fun and gloriously inane videos such as the one above, we can't help but think the music did the trick.


FOR MORE ON AUTOMAGIK, VISIT THE BAND'S WEBSITE. - Interview Magazine

God, this is the perfect song for a Wednesday, isn’t it. All we want right now is to not be at work. The mid-week “Is this ever going to end? Is this really what I do every day? Am I going to be like this forever? Does it ever get better?” thoughts are creeping through our heads as we contemplate why we have to work five out of seven days and not four out of seven. All we want to do right now is get fucked up like consequences don’t matter, and maybe tell people to fuck off.

Automagik has done for us what we cannot do for ourselves: telling everyone to fuck off and then getting fucked up because that’s what they want to do, and they can.

Watch their video for "Fucked Up," off their Dark Daze EP currently out now, envy them, then buy some stuff from them so we can continue to live vicariously through them. - Noisey

The past few years have been rough for the United States. Healthcare issues, unemployment going up, the value of the dollar going down, civil unrest, and some serious Tom Foolery on the political scene. It’s only right for music to reflect these hardships. Most people utilize music as an escape and it’s rewarding to hear someone in our speakers putting our frustration to words. However, by letting our favorite bands shout what we feel, we sort of lose the escapism element. Can music still be fun? Drop the needle on Goldmine, the latest album from Automagik and the answer is a resounding yes!


Automagik – “Goldmine” – Soul Step Records ALBUM REVIEW
3 weeks agoAaron The AudiophileAaron The Audiophile, Album ReviewAdd comment
The past few years have been rough for the United States. Healthcare issues, unemployment going up, the value of the dollar going down, civil unrest, and some serious Tom Foolery on the political scene. It’s only right for music to reflect these hardships. Most people utilize music as an escape and it’s rewarding to hear someone in our speakers putting our frustration to words. However, by letting our favorite bands shout what we feel, we sort of lose the escapism element. Can music still be fun? Drop the needle on Goldmine, the latest album from Automagik and the answer is a resounding yes!

Throwing all political and social issues out the window, Automagik single-handly delivers the most fun we’ve had all year!

Formed in Cincinnati around 2010, Automagik has made a name for themselves with their insatiable style of dance rock. Despite being difficult to label just what it is they do, the best I can come up with is Bootsy Collins joining MGMT, doing songs written by Nile Rodgers. That makes zero sense right? That’s the beauty of Goldmine. It’s a smorgasbord of alternative rock, dance, glam, funk, and soul, all glittered up with big beats and pop hooks. Most importantly, it’s just straight up fun!

The problem with a lot of pop music is the eye-rolling need to resort to hip-hop beats. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some hip-hop, especially when it’s coming from an honest place. I just personally feel those generic flavors of appropriation have all but ruined what pop should be about. On the other side of the coin, dance music’s foray into ‘trap’ or whatever they call it, has turned clubs into seizure inducing endurance tests. Goldmine is the perfect counter to this culture. Every single song makes me want to dance and have a good time like no other record this year.

Despite flavors of Michael Jackson, Rick James, and even Sega Genesis-esque synthesizers, there isn’t a single shred of back-in-the-day-ism to be had on Goldmine. Sonically speaking, the bass is thick, beats tight, and guitars with that perfect amount of funkiness, it’s all 2018 when it comes to production. I can’t even remember the last time an album in this style has sounded this good. Hearing it on vinyl elevates the experience as well. It’s rich, warm, and pops when it needs to just like every release from Soul Step Records.

If 2018’s records were a call to arms at the front of every protest, Goldmine is your best friends taking you out on a night on the town with a rented convertible and a bottle of the strongest liquor available at the corner drug store. Automagik is a band to keep an eye on and there’s no doubt in my mind this album is the most fun your turntable will have all year. - 50THIRDAND3RD