@ signs to 4AD as Philly duo readies ‘Autosmile’
Victoria Rose and Stone Filipczak, the musicians behind @, will release their 4AD debut ‘Autosmile’ on Oct. 16 after a pandemic-born rise.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
The band name is just one character, and now it is headed for one of indie rock’s most recognizable labels.
@, pronounced “at,” is the Philadelphia duo of Victoria Rose and Stone Filipczak, both 32. Rolling Stone reports that their new album, Autosmile, is due Oct. 16 on 4AD, the label associated with acts including Pixies, TV on the Radio and St. Vincent.
The record is the pair’s first for 4AD and follows a slow-burn rise that began during the 2020 lockdowns. Rose, a singer-songwriter who was also starting work in beekeeping, and Filipczak, a former noise-rock drummer from Baltimore, had met years earlier in Boston before reconnecting by text.
Rose told Rolling Stone that becoming a band was not the plan. Filipczak described the new album to the magazine as the result of six years of effort that began by accident.
Their first collaboration started when Rose sent Filipczak a song and asked for percussion. That exchange turned into Mind Palace Music, recorded remotely during the pandemic and posted to Bandcamp in spring 2021.
The album sat online at first, then began spreading by word of mouth in indie circles, according to Rolling Stone. The group’s searchable nightmare of a name became part of the intrigue. Rose said the symbol was chosen because it looked cool, while Filipczak had imagined it on a kick-drum head.
Friends and music business contacts warned them about the practical problem of being named @, Rose and Filipczak told the magazine. Rose said people used to point out that the name was nearly impossible to search online. She added that no one is making that suggestion now.
@ played its first show about a year after releasing Mind Palace Music, at a Philadelphia venue located in a former mausoleum showroom. Rolling Stone reports that Alex G was in the crowd, along with a representative from Carpark Records, which reissued the debut in 2023.
By last year, both musicians were living in Philadelphia and working out the follow-up. Most of the songs on Autosmile began as solo recordings made at home, then were built up together and edited on Filipczak’s MacBook, according to Rolling Stone.
The duo handled much of the instrumentation themselves. Filipczak plays flute, while Rose plays clarinet. Friends added cello and violin on several tracks.
Filipczak told Rolling Stone that flute fit the band’s sound partly because it was practical. He said he bought his first one at a Renaissance festival for about $30. He also told the magazine he owns a cape and has put together a wizard outfit, including a hat bought with Rose in Wales.
Rose returned to clarinet after Filipczak’s brother gave her one for her 30th birthday. She told Rolling Stone she still does not really read music for the instrument but can make it sound good.
Rolling Stone describes Autosmile as mixing ornate arrangements, close vocal harmonies and direct lyrics. Mitski has praised the band’s sound, and the duo performed new material in January while opening for Cameron Winter of Geese at a charity show in New York, according to the magazine.
The lyrics touch on difficult territory, including a breakup and emotional strain after the pandemic, Rose told Rolling Stone. The album title, though, comes from a meme about being high that Filipczak found, featuring the phrase “auto smile” and a smiling flower.
Rose told Rolling Stone she is glad more people are hearing the music after its early days with a much smaller audience. For a band built from a symbol, a lockdown file trade and a very inconvenient search term, @ now has a bigger address.
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.