New from two-year-old group, Autoheart, comes Punch. Now, before we get started, it is important to keep in mind that as a reviewer one must be critical. If each review spoke volumes of the album in question opinions would hold no merit and taste culture would simply not exist. Furthermore, keeping in consideration that taste varies from listener to listener, if one were to ask my honest opinion of the twelve-track compilation from London indie-rockers Autoheart I would respond with one culminating word: alright. Truth be told, the album is too long for the style and themes on which it elaborates. For the style of the music–that being relatively generic indie-pop–the length of each song is simply exasperating. With one full listen, the album draws on much too long. Each successive track does not especially vary from the one before it and, frankly, the textures of the vocals and instruments hardly changes. Albeit, the songs have catchy elements and the production of the album is on point but, at the end of the day, it has very little staying power. The collection lacks a certain spice; there are few alluring facets setting it apart from other indie-acts like it.
Taking this all with a grain of salt, the one track that does jump out (at least for my ear) is track eight, “Hung Over in the City Dust.” Overall, the composition is intriguing and the ascension of the piano is pleasing to the ear. The vocals, too, amount to something notable and the lyrics hold their fair share of weight. Overall, it is well-executed–my only criticism being that it is just too long being the better part of five minutes long. There is something to be said about a song that knows how to end. Another decent track would be track one, “Anniversary.” It is a pretty accessible track which sticks out when first listened to. It does well in setting the precedent for the rest of the album.
Overall, I am honestly excited to hear how Autoheart grows from Punch. Having only been around since 2011, the young rockers have much to build on. My guess is that although Punch is not necessarily a masterpiece, it sets a decent pace for things to come. I’ll be very interested to see how the artists of Autoheart evolve.
