AUTOMATIC

From the liner notes: "This album was inspired by and is dedicated to the many, often nameless visionaries, idealists, and designers of the early 20th Century, who saw and gave shape to a future, where design combined beauty, aesthetic and utility, a future that included everyone, but was sadly, a future that was never to be." I don't know how I can review this album without comparing it to 2002's Futureperfect. Both albums are a bit more melodic than usual for VNV; both feature a hauntingly beautiful, neoclassical track (Liebestod, Goodbye 20th Century); and both feature songs that try to evoke visions of futuristic cities (Airships, Streamline). So it would be very easy to accuse Automatic of being nothing more than "Futureperfect Revisited." But that comparison is too simplistic. Futureperfect treats the future as the present: it's about (as I interpret it) already being IN a future that didn't quite turn out as advertised. And so a lot of songs on Futureperfect tend to be about what's wrong with the future, AS PRESENT. "No tears, no sympathy"; "Somehow I'm always falling over me"; "By our blindness and stupidity, we kill everything"; "Did we toil in vain in hope that wisdom came from what we've done"; "Tell me what ritual I should have today"; "Circumstances afford me no second chance to tell you how much I've missed you"; "Now I'm leaving home, leaving everything that I have ever known." Even some of the more anthemic tracks on Futureperfect (Genesis, Airships, Fearless) seem to have a note of hopelessness about them. And yet, Futureperfect somehow ends up being the happier album. And you wouldn't guess that by strictly scanning the lyrics, or even hearing one of the more anthemic tracks all by itself. For instance, take Streamline. It manages something rare: being a bright, up-tempo, hands in the air dance anthem that can reduce you to tears of regret. It's not that there's anything inherently sad about, say, "Streamlined simplicity, the renaissance of humanity, avenues of light to guide us home." But when you listen to the song with the concept in mind--that this could have been the future, OUR PRESENT, but yet it never came to pass--then the optimistic lyrics, and even the bright, up-tempo music, suddenly become a heartbreaking catalog of the happiness that now, we'll never experience. It takes considerable artistry to make a song both uplifting and depressing at the same time, but VNV absolutely nails it with that one track. I don't want to leave the impression that this album is a total downer: tracks like Resolution and Gratitude do keep the overall tenor of the album one that's more happy than not. But there are a couple of tracks where you might want to have some Kleenex handy the first time you listen to them. And then, there's Nova, which is worth the price of admission all by itself. VNV has not been shy about touching on spiritual and religious themes (Genesis, Nemesis, As It Fades, Where There Is Light), but Nova may be the most overtly spiritual song they've ever done. It is nothing short of transcendent, and it is very quickly becoming one of my favorite songs of all time. VNV came up with a terrific concept, and they keep it going all the way through the album. The sheer amount--quality and quantity--of artistry on display here is something that's hard to find nowadays. I simply cannot recommend this album highly enough. I can't say it's life-changing or anything like that--that's up to the individual listener--but I can say that this album spoke to me in ways few albums in recent memory have. This album, simply put, is a treasure. Buy it, and make sure you give yourself an undisturbed hour to listen to it all the way through. This one's special.

If the world suddenly became perfect (whatever your vision of that is) and all of your favorite heroes took charge and sent every villian to a penal colony on mars, this album is what they'd be playing at the party that night. Grandeur, Titanic Glory, It should be titled- Exhaltation. So much of VNV in the past was in my opinion, stitching up the wounds of our souls to keep us going. Fighting thru the darkness alone, towards a distant dim light. Looking back at my favorite VNV tracks of the past, I realize now that they have been all a kind of prayers that I uttered alone in silence to strengthen me in the the darkest times of my life to find the strength I needed to survive, to find solace. I felt, like so many of us that VNV captured the Zeitgeist of our dark age of this last lost decade (or two or three.) Read the comments on youtube for your favorite track. The music of VNV has been medicine, plain and simple. But then I remember that the only constant in the universe is change. And all I need to do is look around to see the changes all around us the days (Worldwide political revolutions, OWS, end of Iraq and Afganistan). We are approaching its shores. Accordingly, it is this new Zeitgeist that Automatic heralds here. their music captures that. Look around us. The glory, the power, the perfect machine of cadence and sound and for the first time...dare I say it? The Sacred Hope, of promise fulfilled, that permeates the album it left me in tears on my first listen struggling to keep my car on the road. (Do not drive on the first listen, I'm warning you. I was choking crying and laughing all with my mouth open in amazement.(email me the name of another album that does that). I hear an indescribable wonder, a gorgeousness, an exaltation to be alive and awake. It's as if we fought and traveled like Odysseus for a life time and finally landed on the shores of home. VNV drives our flag into the sand and claims it ours. I never write reviews. But after I read a review written here by a very intelligent person here trashing it I couldn't be silent. (darklord zen from Australia drew my attention by his 1 star rating). Let go of your pain brother. Im truly sorry for your suffering. Open your heart. Come out of the darkness. A new world awaits you, its all good. A new world is dawning. Their album is a celebration of it. The songs here are prayers. Sung at the top of Ronans lungs. Let us all sing with him brothers. For the world is yours. "O Wonder, O brave new world, that doth have such people in it.!"- Shakespeare ----- Add to cart right now. And cough up a few dollars for overnight shipping.

it took me a while to pony up for this download since I was sort of lukewarm about the past few VNV releases. they've been spinning "space & time" for a few months at my local industrial club, and it's fun and all - but still - i didn't trust that the entire album would be worth it. well i just listened to the whole thing in it's entirety (with headphones) and i can defintiely say it is worth every penny. yup, i pretty much lost my sh*t several times. up until now, my favorite VNV tracks - the ones that stand the test of time - are Airships and Still Waters. most of the tracks on this album have a similar feel to these. VNV combines totally uplifting, universal lyrics with futuristic arpeggios and epic synth layers that make us fly so high, and even entertain the possibility that maybe - just maybe - we're not as alone as it seems.

I originally bought this album at a VNV Nation concert in December, but after getting it autographed by the guys, I ended up giving it to a friend who wasn't able to make it to the show. I bought the album again off of Amazon, mostly for the song Nova (an AMAZING song IMO), but also because I enjoyed most of the other songs on the album. The only exceptions are "Control" (it seems forced, like it was done strictly for the fans of the GRR ANGRY GRR stuff; I like a bit of that, too, but Control clashes with the rest of the album. *Badly.*) and Goodbye 20th Century (was never crazy about stuff like PTF2012 and this). It's not my favorite of their albums, but I do like it for what it is. For one, it's VERY upbeat; it surprised both me and my friend when we listened to it. I'm not one of those folks who expects every song my favorite bands produce to be absolutely profound and edgy and dark and deep-above-your-head or whatever, and if you're like me, chances are you'll enjoy this album.

VNV Nation is easily one of my top five favorite bands of all time. Been a fan for a decade now. I have loved every album they have released. I first heard their new album Automatic online a few weeks prior to the release of the actual album back in late September, I decided to wait to get an actual copy of the new VNV Nation album Automatic. Once again VNV did not disappoint this long time fan. I love the soaring melodies, inspiring lyrics, and the energetic dance beats. The only track that has left me being unimpressed with is "Control". I like the beats but the melodies just falls flat for me. The rest of the album though is a lot of fun. Automatic is definitely going to be in my top 10 list of best of 2011.

I find it amazing, that someone would go to all the trouble, and time expressing their overall hatred of not just a CD, but of the band itself. Last time I checked, this was supposed to be a review of the actual cd, and not venting on the band, and including their personal disdain, in their rating. So, playing along with the precedent you have set, I give 5 stars, for the band, for their live performances, for their love and generosity towards their fans, oh, and for another great CD. I mean I haven't heard the entire CD, but from what I have heard, I like it. But it doesn't really matter, since we are grading the band as a whole, right? :)

Anyone can enjoy this powerful emotion envoking articulated and beautifully composed album. VNV has come so far and you can feel their growth. Every VNV aalbum.has been different and forward moving in so many ways. From their original hard but well performed dark wave and industrial sound to this modern melodic wall of vocal joy and beautifully crafted lyrics. I even make my family listen to find them asking fpr a copy of it and then reveal it's the same band they used to yell at me for listening to in high school

So happy to finally have to album. I wish the pricing would just normalize, got it at a good price.

イギリスのFUTURE-POPユニットの8thアルバム。前作の 「of Faith Power And Glory」は5th「Matter+furm」の シンセベースのグルーブ感のあるリズムを中心としたサウンドの 延長上にした内容なのだがシンプルで音の薄さのせいか、 いまいち消化不良な印象だった。 本作は「of Faith Power And Glory」のスタイルを踏襲した 内容で、6th「JUDGMENT」で見せたEBM要素は減退したが、 シンセベースは濃厚さが格段に増し、メロディアスなシンセは より厚みを増し壮大になった。過去の作品と比べても その度合いは過去最高だろう。グルーブ感溢れるリズムが 気持ちいい「SPACE TIME」、重なるシンセのハーモニーが 美しい「RESOLUTION」「NOVA」「PHOTON」、アグレッシブな ロック調の「CONTROL」等、捨て曲は一個もなく、VNVNATIONの 最高傑作であり、現時点でFUTURE-POP史に残る大傑作でしょう。

Soy fan de VNV NATION desde hace años y este disco me gusta más cada vez que lo escucho. He de reconocer que no es mi favorito, pero tiene varias canciones muy buenas. Apoyemos a nuestros grupos favoritos.

Grande gruppo li seguo da sempre è un buon disco con pezzi davvero belli .lo consiglio a chiunque piace l'ebm

Genesis war eigentlich der Titel mit dem ich zum ersten Mal mit VNV Nation in Kontakt kam. Damals konnte mich der schwächelnde Gesang nicht wirklich überzeugen. Es waren die geilen analogen 'Synths' die wie von der Peitsche getrieben durch die Lautsprecher gejagt wurden, die meine Aufmerksamkeit weckten. Sounds die zu 100% künstlich klingen ist das was VNV Nation interessant macht und dem sie immer treu blieben und wahrscheinlich auch treu bleiben werden. VNV Nation wurden vor allem durch das Vorgängeralbum "Of Faith, Power And Glory" zunehmend melodischer (z.B. Where There Is Light). Damit ist VNV Nation neben DE/VISION, IRIS, MESH, TENEK ( THE NINE), etc.... zu einer meiner Lieblingsbands geworden. Die Musik wurde vor allem durch die Weiterentwicklung der Gesangsqualität von Ronan Harris wesentlich verbessert. Mit "From My Hands" wurde erstmals bewiesen, dass Ronan mit seiner rohdiamantenen Stimme eine Portion Gefühle transportieren kann, wenngleich nicht diese düstere, subkutane Stimmung wie bei "Beloved" erreicht werden konnte. Nun war ich natürlich gespannt was nach "Of Faith, Power And Glory" von VNV Nation abgeliefert wird: Vergessen wir mal das Intro, das eigentlich nur bei einem Konzeptalbum einen Sinn machen wird, aber hier so überflüssig wie eine 2-sekundige Pause zwischen CD-Tracks ist. Track 2, 3 und 4 sind genau das, was man als logische Fortsetzung versteht. Vertraute analoge Synths, schöne Melodien (Space & Time), melodischer Gesang und diese VNV-typischen instrumentalen Intermezzos (z.B. Space & Time bei 02:52, Resolution bei: -2:40, Control bei 02:12) mit denen man eigentlich nicht rechnen würde. Der Titel Control ist einfach der Hammer; vom Konzept her primitiv, die Umsetzung aber genial. Hier werden mit raschen Beats, aggressiver Stimme und simplen Synthesizer-Sounds die Urinstinkte geweckt. Da kann man nicht mehr ruhig sitzen bleiben und man möchte den Volume Regler immer weiter nach Max drehen. Etwas Abkühlung, die nach Control bestimmt notwendig ist, wird dann durch das instrumentale Stück "Goodbye 20th Century" erreicht. "Streamline" ist ein melodischer Mid-Speed Track, der eher unspektakulär und im letzten Drittel sogar langweilig wirkt. Die Nummer ist einfach glatt wie ein Aal ohne Höhen und Tiefen. Spritzig und frisch mit einem Hauch von Melancholie präsentiert sich "Gratitude" - eine schöne SynthPop Nummer. Die Ballade "Nova" ist gut gelungen und hier überzeugt vor allem der inzwischen wirklich gute Gesang von Ronan. Auf "Nova" folgt der instrumentale Titel "Photon" und zum Ausklang eine minimalistisch komponierte SynthPop Nummer, die als Ballade beginnt und sich zu einem Mid-Speed Track verwandelt. VNV Nation ist mit Automatic ein großer Wurf gelungen. Wer klassische SynthPop Musik liebt, den wird Automatic auf Anhieb gefallen; auch wenn es hier und da mal härter zur Sache geht. Wer hier aber FuturePop oder elektronische Bumbum Musik erwartet, die einfach nur düster klingen soll, wird wohl eher enttäuscht werden. Vergleichbare Bands sind z.B. Covenant, Code64, Information Society, Frozen Plasma und Colony 5.

Musically, it is a fantastic album, everything you would expect from a VNV release. At time of purchase it was listed as the special edition so I thought I was getting a great deal. Of course the standard version arrived so it turned out I paid over the odds for that version under false advertising. You'd think Amazon of all companies could clarify what actual product you're getting from them. I try and buy from anywhere else I can now, vinyl from here is a last resort. Buy directly from the artist, their distributor, or a local record store instead. At least they pay taxes.