Automatic – Shadowplay

Covering Joy Division is a reliable way to embarrass yourself, and most bands who try it end up proving the point. Automatic get away with “Shadowplay”. The song’s bones stay where they were, with the bassline still driving everything, and the rest gets rebuilt from hard-edged synth bass, clinical beats and bursts of distorted noise. Vocals stay flat and detached, which suits a song that was never warm to begin with. Nothing gets bent out of shape to make a point, and the interpretation still sounds like theirs.

It’s also the first release from Automatic as a duo, after drummer and vocalist Lola Dompé left following the Loren Humphrey-produced Is It Now?, with a session drummer now filling the gap. Few covers of this one earn a second play. This one gets a third.