Alix finds the duo with another batch of these sheeny shiny electropop tunes.
Alix is the fourth full-length from indiepop duo Generationals. With a handful of hit singles over the past few years, Generationals is set in their sample’n’synth puzzlepiece pop songs. Alix finds the duo with another batch of these sheeny shiny electropop tunes. The duo has only further embraced the 80s production fad going on right now taking plenty of style cues from Depeche Mode and the Human League. Just as with the last couple LPs, Alix has a few sugary sweet singles sprinkled in with the chewier album tracks.
We start off jauntily with, “Black Lemon,” featuring a synth melody that sounds like the Matilda movie. “Gold Silver Diamond” is the lead single and has the same spacey midtempo as their last big single,“Put A Light On.” It’s a rather fall tune and the best here.“Reviver” is a shameful rip-off/tribute to “Melt With You” and is almost pathetic amongst the other tracks. “It Took A Minute” is a nice change–being one of those meatier, slower album tracks. “Charlemagne” follows suit with an odd jazzy-jump starkness to its all-day-80s-synth sound. The next few tunes are unexceptional until “Would You Want Me” with its horribly catchy digital-brass melody. With the bleed-together in the last half of the album, “Would You” is a great cherry topper to this album.
All in all, Alix is a fine addition to Generationals’ already solid catalog. They may be a safe group and Alix isn’t much more than another exercise for them, but that doesn’t override the level of songcraft here. These songs can get pretty damn dancey and you can do a lot worse than just being “dancey.”
Recommended If You Like: Metronomy, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., STRFKR,
Recommended Tracks: “Gold Silver Diamond,” “Would You Want Me,” “It Took a Minute,” and “Black Lemon”
Reviewed by Doug Bybee on October 15, 2014