Autolux Return From Six-Year Absence With 'Transit Transit'

Six years ago, Los Angeles fuzz rockers Autolux were poised for great things. They had a well-received debut album in 'Future Perfect,' were on T Bone Burnett's label, DMZ Records and spent time opening for massive acts such as Nine Inch Nails, the White Stripes, PJ Harvey and Queens of the Stone Age. But the dissolving of Autolux began after they spent a year on the road and came home to find out DMZ was dissolving.

"It's really hard for me to account for all the time," Autolux guitarist Greg Edwards tells Spinner. "There were a lot of different things involved, many of which didn't have to do with the music. The initial problem with this record was that we got off a year of straight touring for 'Future Perfect' and we found ourselves not with the record label we'd been on, that we felt we had support from, that we thought understood us. We were stuck onto Epic and they expected us to make a record. It seemed like they were pushing us to make a commercial album -- take the most radio friendly aspects of 'Future Perfect' and exploit that on the new record."

"We're just not the type of band that will respond or flourish in that type of environment," he adds. Autolux is now resurfacing with their long-overdue sophomore set, 'Transit Transit,' on a new label. The 10 new songs feature rich, fuzzed-out sonic layering that sounds a bit like Jesus and Mary Chain or Sonic Youth at times, if those acts were heavily interested in electronica.

But label woes weren't the only thing that delayed the album's arrival. "I got hit by a paralysis about what kind of songs should be written for this new record and how to approach it," Edwards admits. "That led to this phase of strange experimentation, where I abandoned any way of how I used to work on songs. I'd use random musical loops and tried to find melodies and rhythms that were intimated within this chaos of sound. In the end, that led to the path of what this record was."

Edwards also experienced a life-changing moment that also put off the album: he and his wife, Sharin Foo of the Raveonettes, became parents and naturally needed some new time to adjust in that role. "I feel like the record is made up of a bridge between 'Future Perfect' and then there are songs that are completely new direction for us," he says. "And I feel like those would never have happened if the process wasn't so protracted and painful."

'Transit Transit' is out August 3 on TBD Records.