It’s late April, which means my thoughts are consumed with the upcoming New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and my annual pilgrimage to the Crescent City. Typically, these ruminations focus more on brass bands and po-boys than on the latest indie record. However, with the release of Actor-Caster, the New Orleans-based Generationals have managed to interject their infectious sound into my internal musings.
Actor-Caster, the band’s sophomore LP, presents an indie landscape that is inhabited by dreamy ‘60s era pop instrumentals, modern electronic sounds, and fluid vocals. The opening track, “Ten-Twenty-Ten,” draws the listener in with driving guitar and a bouncy bass line that beckons warm weather and long road trips. “Goose and Gander,” a song that resonates both sonically and thematically, utilizes furtive handclaps and a pulsing drum beat to tell the tale of two people who can’t stand each other, but can’t stand to be apart. On “Black and White,” lush vocals dance in front of intermittent piano and percussion to create a thought-provoking track that is the album’s finest.
As New Orleans’s fried oysters, cold beer, and unrelenting humidity unleash their curative powers on my beleaguered soul later this week, I will no doubt be awash in a sea of brass music. However, additional pleasure will be taken in knowing that the city that has produced countless legends of jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel, has also given rise to the Generationals. With Actor-Caster, the Generationals have made an exceptional contribution to the indie-pop canon, and have subsequently given New Orleans a foothold in yet another musical form.
Generationals – Ten-Twenty-Ten
Video: Generationals – Ten-Twenty-Ten
Ten-Twenty-Ten by Generationals from Jubadaba on Vimeo.
{ 2 comments }
