The Automatic @ ABC

The Automatic rumble into Glasgow riding the crest of a wave created by radio friendly three-minute wonder-ditties Recover and Monster. The meteoric rise of the band, thanks to these tunes, meant that I wasn't expecting much depth to tonight's set and there were few surprises in this respect. However, such was the monotony of The Automatic's show that by the time Monster was belted out - in fairness, with much gusto - three quarters of the way through their 50 minute set, it sounded as though it had been played numerous times already, albeit with a slightly distorted lyrical content. It's a good formula, it had been well and truly bled dry by the time their first true moment of pleasant surprise hit: a funky punky cover of Kanye West's Gold Digga. It's testament to the band's two-dimensionality that this, and finally getting the real Monster out of the way, were the highlights. Energetic? Certainly. Fun? Most definitely. Worth seeing twice? Not unless The Automatic can start pointing their creative compass in an (even slightly) different direction. [Angus Ross]