The Philadelphia duo @ have been beguiling listeners with their time-bending approach to folk music ever since forging their collaboration during the early days of the pandemic. With Autosmile, their second full-length and first for the storied 4AD label, they push their hypermodern yet timeless songcraft to new heights, exploring darker corners of their sound without ever losing sight of the light. Out today, the album finds singer-songwriters Victoria Rose and Stone Filipczak still blurring influences in fascinating and inspiring ways, channeling avant-folk, grunge, psych, prog, indie-pop, and subtle electronics into a mercurial style all their own.
I hear traces of Alice In Chains, Elliott Smith, Animal Collective, and a whole spectrum of '60s and '70s weirdo greats. But mostly I hear @ more fully seizing command of a style that feels like grasping at ancient magic. "When I try to comfort my mind, I dream of an alternate timeline," they sing on "Punish My Mind," a fitting sentiment for an album that edges up against multiple traditions without ever fully belonging to any.
The lyrics follow suit, disclosing the duo's longings, struggles, and epiphanies in vivid poetic strokes yet remaining elusive enough to demand further contemplation. Even when pouring their hearts out, these two are tantalizingly tough to pin down. In conversation, too, Rose and Filipczak manage to be frank and forthcoming while retaining the sense of mystery around their songs.
On a video call this week, they went through Autosmile track by track, illuminating one of the year's most exciting and thought-provoking new collections of music. Below, immerse yourself in the album while reading our interview. Stone, in the statement you released with this song, you said it was inspired by these baby birds that kept turning up dead on your deck.
So this was a repeat occurrence? STONE FILIPCZAK: Yeah, it happened a few times. It happened every year at a particular time.
This was inspired by a particular year. It was really fascinating. FILIPCZAK: It's just a sort of a dark omen.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
