Every so often our lovable editor throws a bunch of music my
way and asks what sticks. Most often nothing, but this time I took notice of
this three song EP, The Generationals’ Lucky
Numbers. Although I
wasn’t blown away at first, the songs just kind of drilled their way into my
head like little earworms.
It has a lot of things you’ve heard before or maybe you haven’t, but it seems both familiar and fresh at the same--no mean feat in this day and age. The Generationals have a heavy keyboard influence, but aren’t limited by it with the addition of guitars, bass, and drums like a “normal” band.
So let’s break the three songs down.
First up is “Hazel House” which starts with a very bright and very catchy
keyboard line that quickly breaks down into a minimalist structure that keeps
the song going at a steady, yet pleasing place. Then it is abruptly broken by a
garage guitar line that sounds like something from an old California surf rock
record. All in all it has a nice ‘driving down the freeway with the beach one
side of you and the mountains on the other’ type of vibe.
Next is “Lucky Numbers” which, and I mean this in a good way, has a heavy Passion Pit vibe going. Most of the song is centered on a great keyboard hook. It has a bit of the herky-jerky feel that many Passion Pit songs have. It’s not a true “dance” song, but at the very least something you could groove to on the dance floor.
The last song, “Sale City,” is the stand out track. It is a much darker song in tone than the other two and has a more traditional sound. By traditional I mean it has a general early The Cure feel to it that I immediately fell for. It sounds like a song straight out of the post-punk ethos of the late 70’s or early 80’s.
All in all an EP worth getting, and it has me interested in seeking out more of The Generationals music to see if this is the direction the band is taking.
Lucky Numbers is out now. The Generationals' first two albums Con Law and Actor-Caster are available from Park the Van.
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