Autosmile

@ — 2026

“From intimate acoustic passages to sweeping harmonies and psychedelic detours, @ make Autosmile feel both adventurous and immediately inviting.”

I love it when a record catches me off guard, and @’s Autosmile did exactly that. I didn’t know the Philadelphia duo’s 2021 debut, Mind Palace Music, and the intense opening lines of “Bird” kept me at arm’s length. Then Victoria Rose and Stone Filipczak’s vocals bloomed into that chorus, and I was hooked. Across their first album for 4AD, the pair cover guitars, keyboards, saz, flute, and clarinet, while friends add cello, violin, bass, and drums, pushing songs toward psychedelic folk, chamber pop, and the occasional prog rock detour. Even more impressive, much of it was recorded at home, with Filipczak producing and mixing and Rose singing into an old microphone she sometimes props up in a coffee mug. The title track stretches a mysterious breakup across nearly seven minutes, “I Know You Are (But What Am I Thinking)” offers one of the catchiest melodies, and “Punish My Mind” wraps its harsh inner voice in layered harmonies and distorted monkey howls. There is darkness throughout, but the duo never lets ambition bury the songs. Autosmile is wonderfully strange, easy to love, and a great reminder of why taking a chance on unfamiliar music pays off.