American Automatic
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = American Automatic
| type = studio
| artist = Kill Memory Crash
| cover = American Automatic.jpg
| alt =
| released = {{start date|2005|03|17}}
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|Electronic|industrial techno}}
| length = 50:50
| label = Ghostly International
| producer =
| prev_title = When the Blood Turns Black
| prev_year = 2003
| next_title = Of Fire
| next_year = 2008
| misc = {{Singles
| name = American Automatic
| type = studio
| single1 = Never Forget
| single1date = 2004
| single2 = Crash V8
| single2date = 2005
| single3 = The O
| single3date = 2005
}}
}}
American Automatic is the debut studio album by Kill Memory Crash, an American electronic duo based in Chicago, Illinois. It was released in 2005 through Ghostly International.
Background
In the 1990s, Kill Memory Crash started making music, under the group name Feed the Machine. The group then changed its name from Feed the Machine to Kill Memory Crash. The duo's debut EP, When the Blood Turns Black, was released in 2003. The duo's debut studio album, American Automatic, was released in 2005.{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/kill-memory-crash-mn0000770871 |title=Kill Memory Crash |website=AllMusic |first=Rob |last=Theakston |access-date=January 13, 2025}}
Critical reception
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/american-automatic-mw0000737661 |title=American Automatic - Kill Memory Crash |website=AllMusic |first=Rob |last=Theakston |access-date=January 13, 2025}}
| rev2 = Pitchfork
| rev2score = 4.9/10{{Cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/4599-american-automatic/ |title=Kill Memory Crash: American Automatic |website=Pitchfork |first=Cameron |last=Macdonald |date=May 30, 2005 |access-date=January 13, 2025}}
}}
Timothy Pittz of Westword commented that the album "further synthesizes the techno and industrial hybrid, with heavy beats that assault the senses rather than seduce them."{{Cite web |url=https://www.westword.com/music/scratching-the-surface-5085189 |title=Scratching the Surface |website=Westword |first=Timothy |last=Pittz |date=June 9, 2005 |access-date=January 13, 2025}} Brad Filicky of CMJ New Music Monthly stated, "Chicago's Kill Memory Crash explore IDM's creepiest corner, but hangs onto a cyperpunk punch with (sharp) teeth." He added, "American Automatic has all the moody gloom of industrial and IDM's fresh feeling of experimentation and is sure to please both camps."{{Cite journal |first=Brad |last=Filicky |title=Reviews |journal=CMJ New Music Monthly |year=2005 |issue=133 |page=42}} Mike Adair of Exclaim! commented that they "offer a sound that captures the genuine spirit behind old school industrial music, yet maintains a level of modern accessibility."{{Cite web |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/kill_memory_crash-american_automatic-2 |title=Kill Memory Crash |website=Exclaim! |first=Mike |last=Adair |date=May 1, 2005 |access-date=January 13, 2025}} Peter Nicholson of XLR8R stated, "Tired monotones aside, American Automatic thrums with energetic dismay, with dark and gleaming digital details pogoing between machine drums."{{Cite web |url=https://xlr8r.com/reviews/american-automatic/ |title=Kill Memory Crash American Automatic |website=XLR8R |first=Peter |last=Nicholson |date=June 14, 2005 |access-date=January 13, 2025}} Rob Theakston of AllMusic commented that the album "recalls classic moments from the Wax Trax imprint without diving headfirst into the convenient nostalgia that plagues so many industrial bands and has kept the genre in an infinite loop of mediocrity for nearly a decade." He added, "With its relentless energy and unforgiving abrasiveness, American Automatic raises the bar for what industrial dance music should sound like in the 21st century."
In other media
The song "Crash V8" is featured in the video game Forza Motorsport 2 (2007).
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = American Automatic track listing
| title1 = Riyout
| length1 = 5:30
| title2 = American Automatic
| length2 = 3:03
| title3 = Crash V8
| length3 = 4:24
| title4 = Doorway Nine
| length4 = 6:00
| title5 = UTIU
| length5 = 4:07
| title6 = The O
| length6 = 6:08
| title7 = Never Forget
| length7 = 6:11
| title8 = Demento
| length8 = 5:26
| title9 = Battery
| length9 = 5:33
| title10 = Push
| length10 = 4:28
| total_length = 50:50
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Discogs master|103080}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081204142544/http://ghostly.com/releases/american-automatic American Automatic] at Ghostly International
{{Authority control}}