The beginnings of the band stemmed from singer Daryl Palumbo's interests in the
hip hop and
Britpop genres. Palumbo felt that the material that was inspired by these genres did not fit into Glassjaw's spectrum and so Head Automatica was created to showcase this.
The band's debut album, Decadence, was released August 17, 2004. Charting on the
Billboard 200 and Top Heatseekers charts,[1] the album was the brainchild of Palumbo, who was known better for his work in
post-hardcore music, and
Dan 'The Automator' Nakamura, famous for his production work with groups including
Gorillaz and
Handsome Boy Modeling School. The two allegedly met at a party and worked on what later became the album. Palumbo then recruited the other current members as a touring group, and toured the United States,[2] playing with bands such as
Interpol,
The Rapture,
The Used and
The Cure.[3]
The band released their second album, entitled Popaganda, on June 6, 2006. This album was produced by
Howard Benson, who had already worked with Head Automatica on several tracks from Decadence. With the departure of Nakamura, the band took a more organic, classic power-pop approach citing
Squeeze and
Elvis Costello as influences.
Head Automatica started pre-production on their third album in late September 2007, aiming for a "darker" sound and "grimy, dancefloor-friendly" songs.[8] The band recorded half of the material with producer
Jason Lader and the other with
The Brothers (the production team of
Josh Topolsky and Eric Emm).[9] Sammy Siegler handled the drumming duties,[10] and Albert Wing,
Bruce Fowler and Gary Grant recorded the brass section.[11] The band appeared in a Christmas-themed skit on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on December 18, 2008 and went on a short North American tour with
Radio 4 in January 2009. They appeared at the 2009
South by Southwest music conference.[12] In May 2009, Palumbo confirmed that they had finished recording their next album, entitled Swan Damage.[13] In an interview with Revolt online magazine Palumbo stated that the record "captures everything we ever intended Head Automatica to be. It covers the genre spectrum; there are powerful clubby tracks, garage-pop tracks, and body-rocking tracks. This album really reflects the full spectrum of music this band is capable of playing.”[14] The band have been performing songs from Swan Damage live, working titles including "Can't Stand Amadeus", "End of Heat", "Too Ashamed", "Face Upon the Floor", "Spitzer", "Sega", "It's a Lie" and "Hard as Mud".
In July 2009 Head Automatica played a string of US dates with
Cubic Zirconia.[15] The same month, Warner Bros. shelved the album, and the band went missing from the public eye for more than a year, with no announcements regarding Swan Damage.[16][17] The band re-emerged with a new rhythm section of drummer Guy Licata (
Cold Cave,
Hercules & Love Affair) and bassist Rick Penzone (
Men, Women & Children)[18] to perform at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York on October 20, 2010.[19] On October 21, 2010 Palumbo tweeted a link to the Cubic Zirconia remix of the still-to-be-released track "Can't Stand Amadeus".
In late 2009, Palumbo and Head Automatica parted ways with Warner Bros. Records due to creative differences, taking the album's master tapes with him.[20] The album was effectively shelved after Palumbo left the label due to disputes with Warner Bros., but in 2012, he expressed hope that the album would be released "soon".[21][20][22][23] However, in a 2020 interview with Alternative Press, Palumbo expressed disinterest in releasing Swan Damage, citing its unfinished/unmastered state.[20] It has never been leaked.[17][20]
In August 2012 Head Automatica toured the UK as a four-piece, performing material from Swan Damage and new versions of songs from their first two records.[24][25][16] Later the same year, Palumbo and Rick Penzone began writing new music together, which both members felt was not appropriate for use with Head Automatica, leading to the formation of the band
Color Film.[20]
Reunion (2023)
In mid-December 2022, it was announced that Head Automatica would play the Furnace Fest in September 2023.[26][27] A month later, it was revealed that Head Automatica would be playing at the Sad Summer Festival in July 2023.[28]
On May 17, 2024, the band released a new single called "Bear The Cross", which marks the band's first release of new material since 2006.[29]
Band members
Current members
Daryl Palumbo — lead vocals (2003–2012, 2023-present)
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abHeisel, Scott (July 29, 2019).
"COI014: A jackknife to a swan". colorsofinsomnia.substack.com.
Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.