Face it: New York City needs a great new guitar band.

Kids conceived when the Strokes, The Yea Yea Yeas and Interpol last took the city by storm are currently nearing college age. Meantime, rising rents, artisanal mayonnaise and Starbucks stores on every corner have sapped the soul from the 5 boroughs.

Automatic Children, the band, however, are here to keep the faith. They're the gritty, authentic, tough as nails New York City band you need.

Success hasn't been automatic for the Children. They've been churning out solid tunes and playing the dives since 2006, when co-songwriters Adam Lippman and Crista Giuliani joined forces after years of musical near misses. Songs on their first release, 2007's “It’s Not Me It’s You” could be sweet (Lippman's "Out of Order"), or sensual and aggressive (Giuliani's “Dirty Weekend”).

But the great stuff came when they wrote together, like “Pity Party”, which combines Adam's guitar parts and Crista's heartfelt, soulful lyrics. In fact, it's that unique interplay between Crista and Adam that has critics raving. 

Visions of the Unexcused says, "Their split of boy/girl vocals is refreshing and helps them stand out from the crowd".

Automatic Children have two other essential bandmembers: drummer Andrew Thornton, who joined the band in 2017, and bassist Ed Vail, who's now joining in on the songwriting as well.  Put it all together, and boy does this band sound like New York. They mash up all the influences of their favorite bands to create their own sweet, melodic jangly sound. The sound of falling in love at first sight on the L train. The sound of ‘how am I going to come up with the money for ConEd this month and still afford the show at Irving Plaza?’

Rcrd Rvng had this to say about their sound:  "Automatic Children follow their heart, the soul of rock and roll pumping through every beat and never off-track from the band's purpose, to produce a great song you'll want to listen to again and again"

Years from today, they'll say that everyone who ever listened to Automatic Children started a band of their own. For now, however, Automatic Children are an active, vital band.  Their latest single "I Won't Wait" is being released by Sonorous Records, a division of Universal Music Group based in Toronto.

They've been waiting awhile for this moment. Meet them in the bathroom. While you still can.

Musical Recluse living the life at the Base of Mt. Tam 
Drab downtempo shoegazy guitar twang, emanates from my house some times. 
Ezco

For over 30 years, singer-songwriter Maryen Cairns’s allegorical folk-pop has offered a form of literate escapism for her worldwide fanbase. “I feel driven to create songs that people can disappear into. I want to pluck them away from reality so that they can lose themselves for a few minutes,” says the Guernsey-based artist. 

In turn, her singular musicality has taken Maryen on a fantastical journey of a music career. This has included releasing 7 critically-acclaimed solo albums; being produced and mentored by Rolling Stone's producer Chris Kimsey; a professional association with former Marillion lead singer Fish; and many other adventures. 

Today, the restless creative shows no signs of slowing down. She will be issuing a newly-recorded series of live albums that reimagine her classic recordings, beginning with One Woman Band, Live at Echotown Studios, Vol 1 which will be Maryen’s first vinyl release. 

Maryen is a solo artist, a multi-instrumentalist, a producer, and a storytelling songwriter with a flair for compelling narrative arcs, character development, and transporting imagery. Her work is both delicate and powerful, featuring her folksy guitar accompaniment, her crystalline piano playing, and her stunning vocals replete with a unique intonation and invigorating register swings.

Her latest era of creativity has been inspired by a 10-date, one-woman-show tour of the UK that took place in August of 2023. The concept initially blossomed from Maryen’s desire to connect with her audience during the pandemic. The story goes Maryen started a couple of initiatives during lockdown, including The Cairns Club, a series of emails with stories and pictures from Maryen’s musical life, and a popular livestream series. For these special streaming shows, fans wanted her to perform intimate, stripped down renditions of her classic repertoire, and Maryen began to experiment. “I am a believer that good songs can shine, presented just with voice, and simple accompaniment,” Maryen says. 

Right after the final date of her one woman tour, Maryen went into a nearby studio for two days with producer Chris Kimsey. There, in front of a small audience, Maryen performed 30 songs from her back catalog. Often, Maryen would sit on a cajón and pivot between a guitar and piano, and perform impressive one-woman band feats. Nine songs from these sessions have been cherry-picked for One Woman Band, Live at Echotown Studios, Vol 1.

This intimate music making has been the direct result of a self-growth evolution for Maryen which will continue to shape her artistic continuum. “When I was younger, people knew me deeply through my music, but I wasn’t as open to connecting as I am today,” she says. “The connection I now have with my audience has breathed new life into my music.”

Katye Kellye is very, very tired of Autocorrect trying to change her nameShe has been a singer and songwriter for a relatively short time (in geologic terms) or a very large number of dog years. Previously the lead singer of Toxic Shox, her most recent offering (the first in about 35 years) is an EP, Vanity ProjectMs. Kellye writes incisive, pointed, bad-assed songs of experience that are probably not about you. (Although if you think they are, maybe you need to think about why that might be.)

Joined by  Paul Friend and Richard Stern, they hail from Asbury Park NJ, where there is clearly something in the air.

Never Home

Promoting some of the best upcoming and unheard of music

Followers of Automatic Children