Generationals

Generationals

Generationals are coming back to the congress stage! Ask any one who was at the park the van showcase here back in august how this show was. These guys killed it.

The two men behind the creation of Generationals – Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer – don’t know what they’ve done. They couldn’t possibly have that sort of clairvoyance to perceive the effect that one of the songs they wrote has had on the few and will have on the many before the year is up. The song in question – “When They Fight They Fight” – is a HIT recording the likes of which summers cream for, the likes of which makes everyone go a little woozy and a lot bananas. It’s the sunlight accentuated. It’s a pulsing, slow-drip of Motown bass and slinky guitar, melded with plenty of sing-a-long moments and the most perfect set of pop lyrics about fighting and what seems to be unconditional love through the thicks and thins. But “Con Law,” the debut full-length from this New Orleans-based band doesn’t stop there. It’s a record that’s solid from front to back, serving up songs that are meant for unburdened afternoons meant for strolling, crawfish boils, lengthy and enjoyable conversations with dear friends, never-ending hugs, watermelons being sliced into pieces as thick as four plates and no hint of a sunset. Joyner and Widmer were formerly of the band The Eames Era, which took its name from the furniture designed by Charles and Ray Eames, known for its sleek and simply beautiful formations. They’ve expanded those principles and that simplicity into their current musical offerings, packing Generationals songs with enough teeth and muscle so that they could never been heard as over-simplified, but giving them all the touch of effortless flight.