Generationals – Heza

New Orleans indie-rock duo Generationals knows how to apply just the right amount of weird to their psychedelic brand of pop tunes.  Their third full length, Heza, is a curiously experimental piece born from the catchy indie you’ve come to love from the Polyvinyl catalogue.  Careful attention to percussive variety along with a roving cast of influences likens the album to a road trip with plenty of sights along the way.

Opening with the infectious pop tone f “Spinoza,” Ted Joyner and Grant Widmer welcome listeners with a simple, contagious rhythm in the vein of Born Ruffians.  A few rolling riffs repeated under the relaxed rotation of guitar chords and the duo’s easy-going vocals build slowly but steadily.  In that regard,Generationals aren’t in a hurry, content to let their music rise and fall like a leaf at the ever-blowing mercy of the wind.  For instance, the tight little electronic hooks introduced in “Say What” take several tracks to transform into the complex, bubbling synth of “Put A Light On.”  The result is an album brimming with track-by-track personality and little repetition.

Between these scattered poppy indie highlights settles a spread of steady surprises.  “I Never Know” rides out a Black Keys vibe by laying down some crunchy guitars, over classic rock/blues overtones, where as “You Got Me” fashions something of a lounging Caribbean summer atmosphere.

That being said, a couple songs like “Extra Free Year” are almost a little too “out there” for their own good.  Here Generationals gets lost in these occasional meandering moments, essentially skirting the punch line and leaving their audience in sonic limbo before speaking up for their next big statement.

Heza is clearly the product of a band bent on subtly, and aside from a few scattered moments of virtual sleeping in, Generationals’ relaxed tone translates well within Heza’s selection.  Don’t expect to find the next big indie-pop single or something ready for the radio as per Phoenix, but as far as low-key growers go, Heza isn’t hard to hold high after a few spins.