Photo Credit: Ingmar Chen
If you’re still sleeping on @ (pronounced “at”), now’s the time to wake up.
The Philadelphia art-folk duo have unveiled ‘Punish My Mind’, another beautifully unhinged preview of their forthcoming 4AD debut Autosmile, arriving October 16. Equal parts psychedelic folk, avant-garde pop and emotional freefall, the track feels like The Beach Boys melting into a fever dream before emerging strangely at peace.
Built around fluttering woodwinds, warped vocal harmonies, distorted monkey howls and intricate arrangements, Punish My Mind wrestles with the strange ways we can be both our own worst enemy and our greatest source of comfort. It’s unsettling, oddly comforting and impossible to pin to a single genre.
The band describe it simply:
“Punish My Mind is a chill song about self-torture that’s maybe the oldest recording on the album. It has a fat wind arrangement and a lot of vocal harmonies. We hope you like it.”
The single arrives alongside a self-directed video created by Stone Filipczak and follows the sprawling seven-minute title track Autosmile, which earned Pitchfork’s coveted Best New Track distinction and immediately put the duo on the radar of adventurous music fans.
Made up of songwriter and beekeeper Victoria Rose alongside self-taught programmer and multi-instrumentalist Stone Filipczak, @ have quietly carved out one of indie music’s most distinctive identities. Their 2021 debut Mind Palace Music built a cult following through word of mouth, while 2024’s Are You There God? It’s Me, @ saw the pair push further into electronic territory without sacrificing the emotional intimacy that defines their songwriting.
Now signed to legendary independent label 4AD, Autosmile feels like the moment everything clicks into place. The album promises eleven tracks that drift effortlessly between fragile folk, experimental pop, progressive flourishes and moments of crushing emotional weight—all while refusing to explain themselves.
It’s music that rewards curiosity over instant gratification, embracing contradiction at every turn. Beautiful but unsettling. Delicate yet unpredictable. The kind of record you’ll still be unpacking long after the first listen.
Autosmile lands October 16 via 4AD
Pre-order / Pre-save Autosmile: https://at-songs.ffm.to/autosmile
@
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