Generationals - Heza

Oliver brachte uns 2011 auf die richtige Fährte. Die Ermittlungsarbeit bezüglich der Wiederholungstat überließ er offensichtlich anderen Richtern (oder er schrieb mal wieder fremd).

Das dritte Album des Duos Generationals wurde in Austin, Washington, D.C. and New Orleans aufgenommen und integriert in ihren vom Vorgänger "Actor-Castor" bekannten Gitarrenpop ("Spinoza"), der hier leider häufig an Vampire Weekend B-Seiten denken lässt ("Say When"), nun auch vermehrt Synthie-Pop ("You Got Me", "Put A Light On", "Awake") - ein Richtungswechsel, der auch die Shout Out Louds dieses Jahr bereits auf die falsche Spur schickte. Auch die Calypso-Anklänge ("You Got Me") und sommerliche Chillwave-Anleihen ("Kemal"), die Ted Joyner und Grant Widmer nun einstreuen, dürfen als wenig gelungen gelten. Da freut man sich zwischenzeitlich schon fast über einen blues-rockigen Ausritt wie "I Never Know". 

Eine Durchschnittswertung von über 7 Punkten sehe ich dieses Jahr für das Duo aus New Orleans nicht kommen.

"Heza" gibt neben der digitalen Form auch in den Formaten CD, LP und Kassette. Polyvinyl Records offeriert die Schallplatte in neon-rotem Vinyl.

Heza’s tracks are mostly built on a mixed foundation of organic percussion and electronic beats. Clear, spacious rhythms keep the songs sounding open and the hazy vocal melodies lend a sleepy daydream tone. 

It’s actually quite agreeable. Tunes like “You Got Me” and “Awake” inspire deep, relaxing breathes; however, the calmness can be a double-edged sword.

The peaceful nature of songs like “Awake” prevents any kind of tension and release. As a result, the song feels like it belongs in the background. On “You Got Me,” the listener can hear the rustle of a crowd at a comedy show. It’s like Generationals are getting ignored on their own album.

Generationals tries to break the mold a few times. “I Never Know” leans heavy on a blues guitar base and greasy vocals, but never lets loose. “I Used To Let You Get To Me” tries out silly dissonance and off-kilter rhythms, but it doesn’t fully commit to them. It feels half-hearted. 

The one track that avoids a forgettable fate is the opener “Spinoza.” Perky and alive, the song has an energy the rest of Heza lacks.

(Triangle Music)

Kicking off with a bit of sunny surf pop, Spinoza is heavy laden with wild giddy guitars and playful erratic vocals, its bright and bouncy and the perfect re-introduction to remind us of what Generationals do so well. The album sporadically goes trough a dynamic serious of adjustments and changes and we see this first break early on into the record. There is a more focused detailed shift of tighter hooks and tempered pattern as Extra Free Year transitions slickly into a twangy sonic groove. Extra Free Year is heavy on the rhythm and bounce and with a full thriving bass line that streams trough the sprinkles of piano are drowned out.

Say When and You Got Me draws in on the bass as it spurts blips of sonic sparkle and doses of playful and lustrous synth. You Got Me flows out some kaleidoscopic grooves, light, airy and translucent and we begin to get into the heart of the album. This mid flow shift gives Heza a fresh mellow feeling before the mood is elevated once again with Put A Light On. This is the strongest song on the album carrying with it all the trademarks of Generationals twee pop side. Its euphoric weightless buoyant chimes are a melodically charged slab of ear worm indie pop.

The album begins to charge up as I Never Know revs up and thumps an ample glam rock guitar rift until the album is brought down again with Awake and Durga II’s breezy melodies. Kemal keeps things neutral as it drifts into tropical summer vibe, its chimes ring out like a lucid tribal clang of shimmery velvet.

Just as the clouds are beginning to part and the sunshine stars to stream trough in what has seemed like an endless winter Generationals produce an album that will be ready to apply a bit of colour and spring in your step. Generationals prove themselves to be a band that likes to play around with different musical style trough out the decades. They are not afraid to try new things and aren’t weighed down by the expectations of being pigeon holed into the indie pop label that has been placed upon them. Heza is a tentative step in a new direction for the band and while it may seem a little unpolished and giddy at times the result is far from an unsuccessful one.

(The Blue Walrus)