Head Automatica

Head Automatica is the somewhat unlikely pairing of vocalist Daryl Palumbo (of New York City's hardcore outfit <a href="spotify:artist:7nt6S4klYHg4I7Q4lTSmc0">Glassjaw</a>) and producer <a href="spotify:artist:4fv5w0LJib9OMbXQegqZ01">Dan the Automator</a> (aka <a href="spotify:artist:4fv5w0LJib9OMbXQegqZ01">Dan Nakamura</a> of <a href="spotify:artist:3AA28KZvwAUcZuOKwyblJQ">Gorillaz</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3pkmfqaBNsMqnXus05PNfP">Handsome Boy Modeling School</a>). Introduced by mutual friends, the duo began work on their debut, aiming for a sound somewhere in between <a href="spotify:artist:4fv5w0LJib9OMbXQegqZ01">the Automator</a>'s beats and squiggles and Palumbo's penchant for rock and punk. When Decadence appeared in late summer 2004, its groove was just that -- a bright and trashy mix of electronics and rock & roll, the kind of thing for which late nights were made. Palumbo and <a href="spotify:artist:4fv5w0LJib9OMbXQegqZ01">Automator</a> put together a road band and toured in support of the record, sharing shows with such disparate acts as <a href="spotify:artist:7KnaZr690xW0sCihF9Z8oP">Lostprophets</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3NChzMpu9exTlNPiqUQ2DE">Thrice</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3WaJSfKnzc65VDgmj2zU8B">Interpol</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:166Dz1GX3xonSQ3Z6CQW26">the Rapture</a> along the way. However, Palumbo's ongoing battle with Crohn's disease, which the singer suffered from since childhood, continued to give him problems while on the road; various tour dates had to be canceled as he spent time in hospitals to receive treatment.

The frontman continued to relapse as work on Head Automatica's sophomore effort began; his sickness persisted during the bulk of the recording process. The band -- now comprised of Palumbo, drummer Larry Gorman (ex-<a href="spotify:artist:7nt6S4klYHg4I7Q4lTSmc0">Glassjaw</a>), bassist Jarvis Morgan Holden (ex-<a href="spotify:artist:5FBzEnwXCKl3GoZCeXGMNy">Give Up the Ghost</a>), guitarist Craig Bonich, and keyboardist Jessie Nelson -- enlisted the talents of producer Howard Benson to help create an album with a "bright, crisp sound." The resulting Popaganda was issued in June 2006. It proved to be an aptly named album that, without <a href="spotify:artist:4fv5w0LJib9OMbXQegqZ01">Dan the Automator</a> around, largely lacked the electronics of Decadence, instead boasting a relatively more straightforward guitar sound largely influenced by late-'70s pop. A subsequent summer tour was spent opening for <a href="spotify:artist:24XtlMhEMNdi822vi0MhY1">Taking Back Sunday</a> alongside <a href="spotify:artist:7xklw3WodFZiNNmQt3DIgp">Angels and Airwaves</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:4BntNFyiN3VGG4hhRRZt9d">the Subways</a>. ~ Johnny Loftus & Corey Apar, Rovi