''American Automatic'' is the debut studio album by

Kill Memory Crash Kill Memory Crash, formerly known as Feed the Machine, is an American electronic band. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, it is based in Chicago, Illinois. The group's debut studio album, '' American Automatic'', was released in 2005 through Ghos ...

, an American electronic duo based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It was released in 2005 through

Ghostly International Ghostly International is an American independent record label founded in 1999 by Samuel Valenti IV and currently headquartered in Brooklyn, New York City with team in Los Angeles, and London. Artists include Matthew Dear, Dabrye (a.k.a. Tadd Mu ...

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.

Critical reception

Timothy Pittz of ''

Westword ''Westword'' is a free digital and print media publication based in Denver, Colorado. ''Westword'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...

'' commented that the album "further synthesizes the

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

and industrial hybrid, with heavy beats that assault the senses rather than seduce them." Brad Filicky of ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'' 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." Mike Adair of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'' commented that they "offer a sound that captures the genuine spirit behind old school industrial music, yet maintains a level of modern accessibility." Peter Nicholson of ''

XLR8R ''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was originally also a print magazine. History and profile ''XLR8R'' was founded as a newsprint zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in S ...

'' stated, "Tired monotones aside, ''American Automatic'' thrums with energetic dismay, with dark and gleaming digital details pogoing between machine drums." Rob Theakston of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

commented that the album "recalls classic moments from the

Wax Trax Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago. It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that y ...

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 ''Forza Motorsport 2'' is a 2007 sim racing, simulation racing video game developed by Turn 10 Studios for the Xbox 360 console. It is the second title in the ''Forza'' series, and is the sequel to the original ''Forza Motorsport (2005 video game ...

'' (2007).

Track listing

References

External links

*
''American Automatic''
at

{{Authority control 2005 debut albums Electronic albums by American artists Ghostly International albums