Often in music, the meaning of a song doesn’t reveal itself straight away, even to the songwriter. The story of the new Crash Monkeys’ track ‘Automatic’ begins in the 90s when lead songwriter, Stel experienced and fell in love with L.A. County for the first time. Despite fond memories and the allure of the glitz and glamor, when Stel returned to his old stomping ground in recent years the state of urban decay and homelessness crisis were damning. Notably, Stel crossed paths with a young homeless woman holding a baby, half-heartedly begging for money while everyone around him walked by, carrying on with their everyday lives like she was a park bench or lamp post. After a brief conversation the melody and initial lyrics struck him there and then.

Instrumentally, ‘Automatic’ chugs along with a driving rhythm similar to the machine humming and sounds found on L.A. streets but embellished with a bluesy twist. It was at this point after finishing the track that the parallels between the strife of the old blues players from the deep south and the young women in the modern-day American West became clear. ‘Automatic’ is a social commentary on how even the most compassionate of us become desensitised, no matter the person, no matter the victim, we all walk on by.