By: Annika Getz

Autoheart is a London-based Indie-pop group. Their debut album ‘Punch’, was released in 2013, and features 12 songs. I’ll start by saying that this is one of my favorite albums. With captivating lyrics, catchy hooks, and great vocals, it really is the whole package.

The album opens with “Anniversary”, a great opening song. It sets up the general vibe of the album. An catchy song with an even catchier bridge and great lyrics, which gives you a baseline for what’s to come, without hitting peak lyricism yet.

Following “Anniversary” is “Factories”. This is my personal favorite from the album. The guitar work had me hooked from the second the song started. The lyrics have, to me, the perfect amount of ambiguity. The chorus “I am bride and groom in a darkened room, marrying anguish with one last wish. Will you and I make a breakthrough?” is a good example of such ambiguity. Once again the bridge is my favorite part of the song. The buildup is amazing and the lyrics “Do you recall with our vigor, with the pistol we can trigger, we can violate the liquor on the floor” are so pleasing to the ears.

“Control” is the third song. While I do enjoy this song, it isn’t really as memorable as many of the other songs on the album. It is, however, the first song on the album that isn’t super upbeat and fast-paced. I think it serves as a great set-up for the next song on the album, “Agoraphobia”.

“Agoraphobia” is much slower than the first three songs on the album, bringing a much different feeling. I find the melody to be slightly haunting, though beautiful nonetheless. “Agoraphobia” is a song which to me, perfectly encapsulates the feeling of not having it in you to get out of bed.

Fully shifting gears, the next song “Lent” returns to the fast-paced, upbeat vibe of the first few songs. “Lent” is one of Autoheart’s most popular songs and good reason.

“Moscow” is another one of my favorites from ‘Punch’. With an easy-to-remember melody, and great background guitar, it’s another song that’s just really pleasing to the ears.

“The Sailor Song” was their debut single, originally released in 2009, then re-released on ‘Punch’. This is a fan favorite for a lot of Autoheart fans, but isn’t super memorable to me personally. I find myself more interested in what I see as the catchier of the songs on the album. This isn’t to say I don’t like this song, because I really do, just not quite as much as some of the others.

Anyone like me, who finds themselves slightly underwhelmed with “The Sailor Song” will hopefully be revived by “Hungover in the City of Dust” the eighth song on the album. Once again, a bit of a slower song compared to many others, but something about it has me fully captivated throughout the song. Once again I find the bridge to be my favorite part of the song.

“January” and “The Witching Hour” are both great songs which I can’t seem to get into. I don’t skip them, since while I’m actively listening to them, I still enjoy them. They just aren’t very memorable in my opinion. I don’t seem to be alone in this opinion, since I never see too much about either of them online.

At risk of sounding repetitive, “Santa Fe” is another one of my favorites from the album. It is, like many other songs, catchy with great guitar work. I’m not quite doing it justice in my description, because it’s hard to encapsulate a song in writing, so you’ll either have to trust me, or listen to it yourself.

“Heartbreaker” is the final song on the album, and once again I find myself having trouble describing it well. It’s beautifully tragic, and is a great closer, even if it doesn’t really match the vibe of the rest of the album.

Overall, this album makes me feel like I’m the main character in an indie coming of age film in the best way possible.

For more information please visit:

• https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Lm1CMoa8VOCBCLZesAcvc