Kevin Bronson on August 5th, 2019

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The detached, almost clinical music of L.A. trio Automatic seems to come from a remote, even eerie place — where humans turned over post-punk to machines, who in turn allow those humans to participate.

It is not a new sound, of course, but it is very NEU!, and Ladytron, Stereolab, Suicide and Godzuki. And if you’re conversant in those bands and the Motorik beats to which they march, you will welcome Automatic’s cinematic and gratifyingly minimal vibe.

The music is the work of Izzy Glaudini (synths), Lola Dompé (drums) and Halle Saxon (bass), all of whom contribute vocals. They named themselves Automatic after a song by the Go-Go’s — who, they point out, are the only all-female rock band to have written and played instruments on an album to reach No. 1 in the U.S. Glaudini and Saxon played in other bands in the L.A. scene (The Black Windmill and Mega Bog, respectively, to name-check two) and Dompé is the daughter of Kevin Haskins of Bauhas who as a teenager played with her sister Diva in the band Blackblack.

Automatic’s debut album, “Signal,” will be out Sept. 27 via Stones Throw Records. It was made with producer/engineer Joo Joo Ashworth of Froth, and if “Too Much Money” doesn’t motor you to your next destination while feeling empty about the modern world, check out Ross Harris’ video for “Calling It.” Filmed in aluminum foundry, it’s metal but not heavy.

Just in time for tonight’s kickoff to their residency at the Echo, Automatic have released “Calling It” as a 7-inch. As the B-side, the trio offers up a cover of the Delta 5’s “Mind Your Own Business,” one of the lamentably overlooked Leeds band’s gems from 1979.

||| Stream: “Too Much Money”

||| Also: Watch the video for “Calling It”

||| Live: Automatic kick off their Monday night residency tonight at the Echo, joined by FutureShoxxx and Flat Worms. Automatic’s free shows continue Aug, 12, 19 and 26.