On tour now, announce second NY show after selling out Bowery Ballroom
Heza out now on Polyvinyl Records
STREAM: Generationals -“Put A Light On” (Teen Daze remix) –
[media][/media]Teen Daze has remixed Generationals’ song, “Put A Light On,” which you can hear over at Noisey. Generationals have also added a second NY show at Rock Shop tomorrow night after selling out tonight’s show at Bowery Ballroom.
About Generationals:
Since releasing their debut full-length Con Law in 2009, Generationals have consistently delivered pop hooks shone through a melancholic prism. 2013’s Heza brings the band to Polyvinyl and along with the label change, comes a subtle but significant sonic shift.
Recorded in phases at Public Hifi in Austin, producer Daniel Black’s Bent Black studio in D.C., and the band’s hometown of New Orleans, Heza finds Generationals more satisfied in writing songs that breathe and grow over time. These songs show restraint, with hooks developing in the spaces between sounds. The attention to rhythms and textures reveals a more patient band — one willing to dig for deeper gems than in their previous work. Tracks like “You Got Me” and “Put a Light On” use minimalist electronic frameworks to match the intensity of more straightforward guitarwork on “Spinoza” and “I Never Know,” all of them paying more attention to layers and textures than to forcing the hook. On Heza, Generationals aren’t so much shedding their old skin as growing more comfortable in the one they’ve always inhabited.
Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer struck up a friendship as high school freshmen in New Orleans, LA. While attending Louisiana State in Baton Rouge, the two formed The Eames Era with three classmates in 2003. The dissolution of that group in 2007 led to a return to New Orleans where Joyner and Widmer started writing songs as Generationals. Baton Rouge-native and Eames Era producer Daniel Black (The Oranges Band) invited them to record their debut LP, Con Law, at his Washington, D.C. studio, Bent Black in 2008, where incessant coverage of the presidential campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain, and the issues dividing the candidates’ viewpoints, gave rise to the band’s name.
New Orleans-based label Park The Van (Dr. Dog, The Spinto Band) released Con Law in 2009. Its retro vibe clearly bore the influence of Phil Spector’s mid-century pop, but Generationals’ influences always ran the gamut, with pieces of Brit-pop, dance and electronic poking through the trumpet stabs and Abbey Road compression on their analog 24-track recordings.
The band maintained their obsession with tape recording on 2010’s Trust EP, produced in Austin, TX by freak- folk mastermind Bill Baird (Sunset, Sound Team). Trust saw the band drift away from the Brill Building origins of Con Law in favor of a new wave sound that owed more to The Sugarcubes and The Stone Roses than the Ronettes. 2011’s sophomore LP Actor-Caster revealed a band zeroing in on their strong suit: dynamic pop songwriting. All ten of its taut, bright songs found their way into the band’s setlists as they hit their stride with a live confidence earned by relentless touring.
The band’s latest endeavor, Heza, brought them to Polyvinyl Records, which will release the album on CD, LP, cassette, and mp3 on April 2, 2013.
“Since releasing their inaugural album, Con Law, back in 2009, Generationals have established themselves as the go-to band for sunny pop songs that display all the catchiness of a Top 40 single without sacrificing a sense of technical playfulness.” – Paste
“‘Put a Light On’ should be liquefied, bottled, and sold at your nearest pharmacy.” – NYLON
“Unobtrusively earwormy, its tracks are lively and melodic but cohesive-the kind of album you can let run on repeat, repeatedly.” – Harper’s BAZAAR
“Heza is a nuanced work that flirts with the experimental, but always remains intimate, atmospheric, and endlessly listenable.” – All Music
“With Heza, Generationals have perfected its a-little-bit-of-everything pop.” -Under the Radar
GENERATIONALS
04/22 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom *
04/23 – Brooklyn, NY – Rock Shop
04/25 – Allston, MA – Great Scott *
04/27 – Portland, ME – Space
04/28 – Rochester, NY – Bug Jar ^
04/30 – Winooski, VT – The Monkey House ^
05/01 – Montreal, QC – Casa Del Popolo ^
05/02 – Toronto, ON – The Garrison ^
05/03 – Cleveland Heights, OH – Grog Shop ^
05/04 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall ^
05/05 – Milwaukee, WI – Hotel Foster ^
05/06 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry ^
05/08 – Des Moines, IA – Vaudeville Mews ^
05/09 – St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House ^
05/10 – Nashville, TN – The High Watt ^
05/11 – Atlanta, GA – The Earl ^
05/31 – Lafayette, LA – Downtown Alive!
05/31 – Lafayette, LA – Atmosphere ^
06/01 – Dallas, TX – Three Links #
06/02 – Austin, TX – The Parish #
06/04 – Phoenix, AZ – The Crescent Ballroom #
06/05 – San Diego, CA – Casbah #
06/07 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo #
06/08 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill #
06/11 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge #
06/12 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern #
06/13 – Vancouver, BC – The Biltmore Cabaret #
06/14 – Missoula, MT – The Badlander #
06/15 – Boise, ID – Neurolux #
06/16 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge #
06/17 – Denver, CO – Hi Dive #
06/18 – Kansas City, Mo – Record Bar #
06/20 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s Upstairs
06/21 – New Orleans, LA – Maison
06/22 – Mobile, AL – Alabama Music Box
06/23 – Tampa, FL – New World Brewery
06/26 – Orlando, FL – The Social
06/27 – Jacksonville, FL – Underbelly
06/28 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall
* w/ Splashh
^ w/ Brass Bed
# w/ Young Empires
Generationals
Heza
Polyvinyl Records
Street Date: April 2, 2013
CD / LP / Cassette / MP3
1. Spinoza
2. Extra Free Year
3. Say When
4. You Got Me
5. Put A Light On
6. I Never Know
7. Awake
8. Kemal
9. I Used To Let You Get To Me
10. Durga II
GENERATIONALS LINKS:
Official Site – http://generationals.com/
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/generationals
Twitter – https://twitter.com/generationals
Label Site – http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/heza