Portland, Oregon duo Autopilot Is For Lovers are an interesting little group. For just two members, this is a band that creates a right racket using quirky instrumentation and elements of Americana to come up with a sound that's gloomy and discomforting while at times being overpowering. Their album, To the Wolves is a moving and weird experience that really has to be heard to be believed.
Why is To the Wolves weird? Well if you can imagine the sound of mountain people intermingling with gypsies and a yodeler than you're kind getting the right picture. You see much of To the Wolvesdoesn't sound like it should make sense, and it doesn't in a gypsy folk gone wrong sort of way. Add in vocalist Adrienne Hatkin yelping her way through many of the songs here and you're looking at a migraine because of how bizarre it all sounds.
It's only when the band leaves the strange genetic folk experiments behind that they make sense and actually sound approachable. By using some simple blues influences and chords in those songs, Autopilot end up sounding like a dirtier, grittier PJ Harvey or even the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and come off quite cool. "Shadows," for example is a simple but effective rocker that revolves around a couple of chords repeated into infinity that will kick your teeth in.
Unfortunately, most of this record is painful to listen to. Adrienne's vocals are just too much after about three or four songs and over half the album sound like the songs have been living in woods for decades. There's rustic and then there is rustic. Unfortunately, the gypsy folk just gets annoying when you know this band has a rock and roll monster just itching to get out. So my advice to the band is to exorcise your demons now and come back with an amazing second album that's packed to the rafters with slow, grimy blues rock and roll bombshells.
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