UK release date: 27 March 2006
Re-release date: 8 January 2007
One of the songs that dominated 2006 was The Automatic's Monster - that cry of "what's that coming over the hill" becoming a staple of every festival circuit. The Welsh band re-release previous single Raoul this year - here's what we had to say about the track first time round.
Although Welsh four-piece The Automatic haven't quite got the hang of the whole rock'n'roll sentiment thing - "Let's go back to work" is unlikely to pass into the genre's lexicon like "I hope I die before I get old", or "God save the Queen / she ain't no human being" or even "Pass me that red snapper, this groupie is beginning to come round" - this single does suggest a band who have a fair handle on the current trend for choppy guitar laden fun.
Thanks to a large slice of disgust at available opportunities ("Our ambition got cast aside / thrown away when the batteries died") and keyboardist Pennies insistence of shrieking along in the background in a manner that makes you think he's stood on the middle rail, Raoul crashes along, edgy, annoyed and full of intent.
Ok, it's slightly less trailblazing than a theory suggesting the world is round, but with a chorus that is definitely heading towards monstrous and a handy knack for a serrating riff or two, as derivative additions to an over-saturated genre go, it's damn fine.
