Autogramm look, sound, and feel like they’re lifted directly from the early 80s, so keenly and capably they pay homage to the second wave of punk and the rise of New Wave. 

“We all came up in 90s hardcore bands — dating ourselves, again,” says Marx. “You know, there’s always bands emulating the sound of the first wave of punk, the Sex Pistols or the Clash, or even proto-punk like The Ramones or The Stooges, but not as many bands who emulate the second wave of punk, which is where we’re coming from. This came chronologically at the same time as the first wave of hardcore.

“It’s interesting because it’s like they’re two sides of the extreme: some people wanted to go hard and heavier, some people wanted to go poppier and more melodic, and that’s kind of where we’re going.”

The video for the lead single, “Born Losers,” directly plays into that, a fun-loving Sasquatch at the centre of an 80s teen, beer-and-ski romp. Everything in Autogramm is done as an outlet for fun: these are just four guys who likely keep playing together as long as they’re able, even as they enter new chapters in life where it’s harder to bounce back after a gnarly wipeout on the slopes.

Music That Humans Can Play feels, well, totally human. It’s about the positive connections we can form on the dancefloor during live shows as a resistance to the otherwise looming sense of isolation felt in the late stages of the Internet Age. 

“There’s a through-line, lyrically, in Autogramm. While the songs might be about anxiety or depression, we also kind of have this inclusivity on the record, like we’re all born losers,” says von Seattle. “I’m a loser just like you, or like ‘WannaBe,’ the lyrics to that song are meant to bring in the listener, like we’re all in this together.”

“You know, walk together, rock together,” laughs Marx.