Maybe you felt it too. That moment when "Same Old Song" kicked in and it didn't quite sound like the floor-stomping, tambourine-shaking Lumineers we met back in 2012. It’s been over a decade since "Ho Hey" became the soundtrack to every wedding and grocery store aisle in the country. But with the release of the album Automatic on Valentine’s Day 2025, Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites decided to stop playing it safe.
They didn't just release a few new tracks; they built a 32-minute fever dream about how weird it feels to be alive right now. If you've been searching for The Lumineers Automatic songs, you're probably looking for more than just a tracklist. You're looking for why these songs feel so heavy, so stripped back, and honestly, so cynical.
The Core of the Automatic Tracklist
The album is tight. Only 11 songs, and it moves fast—barely clocking in over half an hour. But it isn’t "fast" in a happy way. It’s frantic.
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- Same Old Song – The opener. It’s got that signature beat, but the lyrics are about instruments being stolen and nobody caring. "I'll never see my mom's guitar again," Schultz sings. It’s a gut punch right out of the gate.
- Asshole – Yeah, they actually named a song that. It’s bitter and self-reflective. It’s about that moment in a relationship where you realize you’re the problem.
- Strings – A 33-second palate cleanser. Just some tension-building strings that bleed right into the title track.
- Automatic – This is the heart of the whole project. It’s a piano ballad that sounds like it belongs in the credits of a movie where the protagonist just lost everything.
- You’re All I Got – This is the one that feels most like "classic" Lumineers, but the desperation is dialed up to eleven.
- Plasticine – A weirdly catchy critique of how we mold ourselves for other people. "I can bend me into anything you need," Schultz warns.
- Ativan – Easily the darkest track. It personifies the anti-anxiety med as a toxic lover. "I'll provide the poison and the medicine."
- Keys on the Table – A companion piece to "You're All I Got." It’s about the shame of a relationship ending and literally leaving the keys behind.
- Better Day – This one tackles the outside world. Senators, social media, "blue lights keeping red eyes awake."
- Sunflowers – Another instrumental. It’s pretty, but it feels like a mourning period.
- So Long – The closer. It’s nearly five minutes long and was recorded in just two takes. It’s raw, it’s big, and it feels like a final goodbye to an old version of the band.
Why "Automatic" Isn't Just a Love Song
When the title track Automatic drops, it shifts the energy of the whole record. It’s not a love song in the traditional sense, even though it was released on the most romantic day of the year. Instead, it’s a song about the "automatic" way we live—scrolling, numbing, and failing to actually connect.
Schultz asks a question that repeats like a haunting loop: "Is it ever gonna be enough?"
The production here is intentional. They recorded this stuff in Woodstock, New York, trying to capture the raw vibe of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. There’s no polish. There’s no "radio edit" shine. It sounds like two guys in a room trying to figure out why the world feels so disconnected.
The "You’re All I Got" Connection
One thing that confuses people about The Lumineers Automatic songs is the repetition. If you listen closely, "You're All I Got" and "Keys on the Table" share the same DNA. They use the same melodic hook and the same core phrase: "You're all I got."
In the first song, it feels like a plea for someone to stay. It’s hopeful, sort of. But by the time you get to "Keys on the Table," that same line feels like an admission of defeat. It’s a brilliant bit of songwriting that shows how the same words can mean something completely different depending on how much you've lost.
Dealing With the "Plasticine" Reality
Then there's "Plasticine." In the UK, Plasticine is just modeling clay. Here, it’s a metaphor for the way fame and social media force us to be flexible until we break. The band has been around for 20 years now. They’ve seen the "stomp-and-holler" genre get parodied, celebrated, and then forgotten.
This song feels like them pushing back. They aren't interested in being the "Ho Hey" guys anymore. They’re interested in being the guys who write about the "black sedan of depression" and the "bullet train to Neverland."
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
If you're just diving into this era of the band, don't expect a fun summer road trip album. This is "headphones in a dark room" music.
- Listen in order: This album is a narrative. The transition from "Strings" into "Automatic" is ruined if you have shuffle on.
- Watch the lyric videos: The band released specific visuals that help bridge the gap between the songs.
- Check out the "Ativan" lyrics: If you've ever struggled with the medicalization of modern anxiety, this track will hit home. It’s arguably the most honest thing they’ve ever written.
- Compare to "Brightside": Listen to their 2022 album Brightside right before Automatic. You can hear the exact moment they stopped trying to write "hits" and started writing journals.
The Lumineers didn't make this album for the charts. They made it to see if they could still feel something in a world that’s gone on autopilot. It’s messy, it’s short, and it’s occasionally very depressing. But it’s also the most human they’ve ever sounded.