Despite its regular re-invention and occasional eulogising, pop has never gone away, regardless of the passage of generations.
Like the concept of the teenager – which, according to some reasonably robust sociological analysis conducted by the likes of Jon Savage – that was created, constructed and promulgated into popular discourse over the course of the 20th century, the notion of a “generation” has taken on a cultural meaning that transcends its basic temporal aspect. To be part of a generation is to be associated with particular purchasing habits, attention span and financial competence; the neighbouring construct of “generational change” is simply a euphemism adopted to justify the dismissal of more venerable servants in favour of a new cadre devoid of previous generational prejudices.
Whether any of that is relevant to Generationals (sic) remains to be seen – probably not, as these things go. What is relevant to Generationals is the band’s indulgence of basic pop sensibility, stripped back to its root causes, and minimal instrumental flourish. To carry the cheap cultural critical metaphor one step further, Generationals dip and choose from various generations of pop. Fundamentally, there’s plenty of the happy-go-lucky bubblegum pop that coloured pop music in the late 1960s – the horn-infected Nobody Could Change Your Mind is a teen pop anthem in the making, replete with visual images and wall-of-sound production shtick. Angry Charlie wanders in bubbling and smiling from a journey back to 1987, while Faces In The Dark has splashes of Bart Pader and Beach Boys.
When They Fight , They Fight is loungey, in a Monkees-meets-the-Shangri-Las sort of way, all saccharine sitcom smiles with a dash of Thermals for good measure.Wildlife Sculpture is pop in its perfectly cheap and entirely pleasant synthesiser guise, Kraftwerk for the Prozac generation; Bobby Beale offers up a plate of steaming, tantalising funk for a salivating electronica-happy audience and Exterior Street Day heads back to the wall of aural excitement for some serious satisfaction. There’s a whiff of Beatles in It Keeps You Up; These Habits is nothing more than a quaint melody and some cute lyrics – and, really, what more do you need?
For its Australian release, Con Law comes with a bonus EP, Trust, illustrating further dimensions in Generationals’ minimalist-electronic pop sensibility. Say For Certain is subtle beyond the call of duty; Carrying the Torch is the same lo-fi pop aesthetics The Twerps know, love and happily exploit.
Despite its regular re-invention and occasional eulogising, pop has never gone away, regardless of the passage of generations. Generationals are here to keep the flag flying for another few years.
Best track: When They Fight, They Fight
If you like this, you’ll like : The Twerps.
In a word : Cute.
