Worth the Wait: Autoignition Set to Drop New EP, ‘Against the World’

(EDITOR’S NOTE — We’ve opined here once before that the Buffalo band Autoignition seems incapable of writing a bad song. And the group’s latest single, ‘Not for Nothing,’ lends further credence to our stance. The new track, which you can listen to HERE, is the lead single from Autoignition’s upcoming five-song EP, ‘Against the World,’ which drops on May 15. In a sense, the new record has been a longtime coming for the band, given that some of the EP’s songs were written three years ago. But as the saying goes, ‘good things come to those who wait’ and in less than three weeks, we’ll all have a new Autoignition record we’ll be able to spin. 1120 Press recently spoke with the band’s front man, Liam Ebers, about the new EP and everything else Autoignition has going on. We’re grateful for his time. Recorded at GCR Audio in Buffalo with Jay Zubricky and mastered by Will Killingsworth in western Massachusetts, ‘Against the World’ will be available on 7” vinyl through Static Era Records (available HERE), on CD through 51st State Records (available HERE) and streaming platforms. Autoignition is Liam Ebers - vocals/guitar; Cooper Taylor - guitar; Leo Gastle - bass and Quinn Ebers - drums. 

1120 PRESS: Congratulations on the new single and forthcoming EP! The single is excellent! We were intrigued by your post the other day that touched on how the ‘new EP was actually written three years ago.’ So, just to start off, how does it feel knowing these songs are finally going to see the light of day and be heard?

LIAM EBERS: Obviously we are super excited. We think this is by far our best stuff yet and are super stoked to get it out there. We’ve been playing some of these songs live for a really long time, and we’ve always felt the songs go over great, and that the energy in the room feels a lot more intense, and lively, when we play these songs. So, now we’re stoked people will get the chance to sing along and move around to them.

1120: Can you talk a little about why there was a three-year lag between the writing of the EP and its release. Were the songs recorded three years ago, or just written then? And during those three years, did you go back and re-work/re-record the songs or leave them as they were?  

LE: I remember the day we finished recording (the album) ‘This Is Moving Forward,’ I went home that night and wrote ‘185’ which is the second track on the new EP. The new single ‘Not for Nothing’ was written right after that, and I felt like I had hit a stride of writing songs that had the songwriting style of TIMF, but closer to the sound of the early demos we have. So, about half of this EP, and the two singles we released in 2024, were written in between TIMF being recorded and released. So, two of those songs came out later that year, and we had plans to record soon after that, but we ended up pushing that back and by the time we had mixes and a master, some of the songs were nearing three years old.

1120: The last time we spoke was back in 2024 when ‘This is Moving Forward’ was about to drop. Up until that point, the band had not really toured much. But since the release of that album, you guys have toured relentlessly which has been really cool to watch. At this point now, the band has literally crossed America, from east coast to west coast. What has that experience been like for you guys and how would you say that experience on the road has impacted the band’s development?

LE: Like with any band, there’s been a lot of ups and downs. It can be seriously disappointing and tough being out there sometimes but other times it’s the most fun we’ve ever had and extremely fulfilling. I think it’s taught us a lot about just working hard and doing your best and not expecting anything from it. There’s no reason anyone has to put on shows for us, put us up, and organize the whole thing. We’re not owed anything from anyone, so the fact that kids show up, pay 10 or 15 dollars to get in, buy a shirt, want to say what’s up, and might even know the words, is insane. I just try to stay cognizant of those things and try to have a good time with it.

1120: Autoignition originally started as a one-man project. We went back and looked at a post of yours from 2021 when you wrote: ‘My goal this year was to have songs that I wrote out for people to enjoy…. even if you think (my music) sucks, just stream the shit out of it with the volume off so I can quit my job.’ That post seems incredible to us considering where Autoignition is now. Do you ever stop and reflect upon how far the band has come and all it has accomplished since ‘Senior Thesis’?  The evolution just seems remarkable.

LE: All the time. It’s way easier to take the ebbs and flows of being in a touring band that’s really trying to take it all the way with that kind of thinking. Within the scene, all you see are things other bands, or your peers, are doing and it’s so easy to get caught up in thinking “why not us” or “that band sucks” or any kind of woe-is-me type stuff. I just try to think back on how exciting it was to have a single show booked, and soon after everyone in our city was putting on for us and really helping us out. So, to think that we’d be going to an actual studio, going on tour, having vinyl made and all this stuff, is just the cherry on top. Like, I never would have imagined myself fronting a band, much less playing shows in California. It’s truly wild to think about all the friends we’ve made and places we’ve seen, and I say all the time that if it ended tomorrow, I would at least be able to be proud of that.

1120: With a new EP dropping and summer approaching will the band be hitting the road again? What’s on the agenda for the near future? 

LE: We have some shows coming up at the end of May with High Reach and Ten Years Out. They’re both some of our favorite bands and favorite people we’ve met on the road, so being able to hang out with them a bunch is gonna be a blast. We have a bunch of shows in August we’re working on which should be cool, and we’re gonna try and stay as busy as we can after that between touring and writing/recording another record.

1120: Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule and giving us this opportunity to speak with you. Is there anything else you’d like to say about the EP that we haven’t touched on, or anything else for that matter? 

LE: Just be yourself and do things for the right reasons.