Faced with the choice of spending years getting drunk and in debt as students, or drunk and famous as rockstars, the four boys who would be The Automatic really only ever had one option. Alex Pennie, Rob Hawkins, James Frost and Iwan Griffiths bonded over shared loves of Blur, Ash and Radiohead, but cutting their live teeth on the screamo-heavy Cardiff scene saw them grow close to the experimental hardcore bands like Jarcrew, which put them in a unique position. The Automatic were able to mine a virgin sound-  urgent, glam hardcore fantasy island of sounds as ambitious, deranged, angry and fun as the sound of the future should be. Having signed to B-Unique, a stint of intensive recording in Liverpool, Cardiff and Lincoln produced 'Not Accepted Anywhere', the band's Steve Harris and Richard Jackson-produced debut album. It's the most restless, energetic, urgent album you'll hear all year.

Now, having recently completed another sweaty, bouncy, victory lap of a tour, selling out their biggest headline shows to date, The Automatic are now preparing to launch into 2007 with the sublime new single 'Recover'. And with 'Not Accepted Anywhere' now certified gold, having clocked up close to 200,000 sales, The Automatic's joint gap year is starting to look like a very smart idea indeed.