The GeneratorsThese Los Angeles natives have been around for close to ten years. They rose up from the ashes of Schleprock, a relatively large band that was signed to Warner Bros, when the band disbanded from internal problems, Berru (drummer) and Kane (vocalist) decided to start up another project which in turn led to The Generators. Ironically enough, their song "City of Angels" become the anthem for Corona (who wants to pay $38 for some yellow piss with a lime in it? Fucking fruits) and Lakers commercials in California. Must've gotten some nice royalties off that huh?
Very laid back is the best way to sum this bands sound up. It's punk but its very subdued and isn't all that up-beat and uses lots of catchy, melodic hooks that are as clean as Tabitha Stevens bleached asshole. The vocals sound good, the guy actually has some singing ability. I guess you could say these guys sound a bit like Social Distortion and Bad Religion but it's much more mellowed out.
The lyrics are pretty fucking good actually. They come off semi-poetic and are relatively dark and bleak. Check some of this stuff out: "Room With A View"—"Here I am on the inside looking out again, I stare out the window in this state of suspense. I watch all the funerals march by. I can see the nightmares in black and white. I got a room with a view..." Good shit.
The production on this album is extremely clean sounding. This thing sounds crystal clear, I guess that money from Corona and the Lakers helped. There is some effects on this voice here and there but its not over top. The guitar tone is streamlined and uses barely any distortion but the tone is superb. The bass tone sounds awesome, great warm tone and plenty of presence. The drums aren't really the focal point of the music so it makes sense they were mixed a tad lower. Shit even the harmonica in "Ten Days Away" sounded good.
From just the title of the album alone, the layout doesn't really tie in but after reading the lyrics it makes a little more sense I guess. Lots of lyrics about death and destinies but I don't understand why the main color is orange? Pretty much everything has an orange shade to it except for the lyrics and the album title. The inside of the book is a bit too plain for my tastes, it relies on an all orange background with black trim serving as boarders and just the lyrics. I also find it funny that the pictures on the flip side of the booklet of the band features 3 guys playing guitar? Where the hell is the bassist? I noticed that the guitar player played most of the bass tracks on the album but the bassist doesn't play any guitar tracks so why is there 3 guitarists? And damn couldn't they have found a picture with a bass in his hands?
Rating: 3/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Walking Away and Lost In Transition
Thesis: This album is a good listen if you're trying to mellow out and relax after a long day. It certainly isn't "in your face" or anything like that, it's pretty melancholy actually. They are all very solid musicians and it shows. Real big recording that maximizes what these guys are doing.