Since 2012, The Lumineers have been releasing modern folk albums and singles. These songs have integrated their way into almost everyone’s life at some point, and the band is known as the backbone of modern folk music. This classifies them as one of the most well-known bands in modern times, a band with music perfect for any occasion. Whether sad, happy, or confused, The Lumineers have released a carefully written song that is guaranteed to resonate with listeners. 

Produced by David Baron, “Automatic” debuted on Feb. 14, and is their first album since “Brightside” in 2022. “Automatic” featured no other artists. In the past, The Lumineers have not been typically known for their collaborations, however, previously they have worked with Zach Bryan and Mumford and Sons. After their last album, which had a cheerful and bright vibe, The Lumineers released their fifth album, “Automatic.” “Automatic” is a fairly short album, with only 11 songs lasting only 33 minutes. It carries an enticing and inspiring message, with beats that make listeners feel like they want to head-bang, but in a slow-paced fashion. 

The opening track,“Same Old Song” begins with a powerful drum beat and fast tempo. This song tells the story of what appears to be a childhood experience and how it was coped with. The steady drumbeat carries throughout the entire song and flows into “A*****e,” which opens with a soft, beautiful piano solo and a similar starting tempo as the previous song. 

“Automatic” features two songs void of any lyrics whatsoever, “Sunflowers” and “Strings.” “Strings” is the third song on the track, and opens with an orchestra feel, the nostalgic feeling of being at a symphony concert when the band is just beginning and tuning their instruments. A subtle violin is heard to allow the listener to prepare for the next section of the album. “Sunflowers,” the 10th song on the album, opens with a soft, fast-paced piano, jumping back and forth between a few keys until combining in some lower sounds. The tune then shifts to give off a more subtle and magical vibe, as things begin to slow down and a violin is brought into the tune. “Sunflowers” ends with a subtle fade out which transitions very smoothly into the final song of the album, “So Long.” 

My personal favorite song on the album is the seventh track, “Ativan.” The song begins with a voice counting the band in, and starts immediately after with only a guitar and vocal combination. The lyrics throughout the song are truly well thought out and convey great emotion. The song features a lot of piano moments and the beat stays fairly the same throughout the duration of the song. Around two and a half minutes into the song, the beat shifts as a drum is introduced and the tempo begins to speed up as the lyrics become more direct to the listeners and are able to resonate with them about what happens when not making any changes to life.  

A major takeaway from this album is simply to keep pushing forward, that no matter how boring or challenging life gets it’s important to find new and different ways to navigate through. I really enjoyed this album and how easy and relaxing it was to listen to. Personally, this is one of my favorite albums by The Lumineers and is going to be a perfect addition to my driving playlist.

4.5/5 paws