Autopilot is for Lovers

Friday, June 19

Autopilot Is for Lovers is a Portland duo whose lead singer, Adrienne Hatkin, sounds more like Stevie Nicks than Stevie Nicks. However, it would be inaccurate to say Stevie Nicks sounds like Adrienne Hatkin because Hatkin wasn’t even a fetus when Nicks began her crooning career. But, together with her multi-instrumentalist bandmate Paul Seely (Hatkin’s a multi-instrumentalist herself), Autopilot is for Lovers sounds nothing like Fleetwood Mac. In fact they’re quite the opposite, cultivating an Eastern European sound through the use of peculiar instruments like accordion, melodica, and glockenspiel. Their full-length debut, To the Wolves, is quite impressive, although it lurches a little too close to Devendra Banhart territory on a handful of tracks. But let’s face it: The real reason I’m writing about this band is Seely shares a full name with my father, and spells it the exact same way. That’s a first. Photo courtesy Jason Quigley.

Fri., June 19, 9:30 p.m., 2009