Seattle threesome formerly known as the Automaton Adventure Series recall Built to Spill, the uber-influential Sister-era Sonic Youth or Fugazi with their blend of smart noise rock and cynical poly-sci lyrics. The band, consisting of Pat Kearney (guitar, vocals), James van Leuven (drums), and Chris Duryee (bass), formed in 1998 and put out their first single on Galleon Key. A full length, the Phil Ek produced futura transmitta, followed in 1999 and was co-released on Galleon Key and Satellite Transmissions, an indie-label closely associated with the underground fanzine Skyscraper. In 2000 they dropped the bulky 'Adventure Series' and became simply Automaton (which is also the name of a mid-90s Bill Laswell project, confusingly). Clarions and Banners came in 2002 on PacifiCo with Phil Ek and Steve Wold again as engineers. ~ Daphne Carr