Controlling The Famous

Automatic City

[4/5] Understatement in rock music usually leads to underdog status for bands, but give Controlling The Famous’ debut album, Automatic City, just a few notes to sink in, and it’s that same understatement that’ll win you over. Produced by Alex Newport (The Mars Volta, Some Girls), City is as jagged and propulsive as any post-punk/hardcore album in recent memory; but it’s the little things–the precision-cut song structures, the gut-churning bass tones, the striking light/dark contrasts, singer Max Hellmann’s raw-yet-familiar vocals (think J. Robbins in his Jawbox prime)–that crawl into your head and stay there. Controlling The Famous may be underdogs now because they don’t write big, dumb, obvious hooks, but slow and steady wins the race, and this is one band that won’t need anything more than smarts and raw talent to do it.
(THE MILITIA GROUP) Emily Zemler