WHO SOLD MY GENERATION? by Night Beats
Genre: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Favorite Tracks: “Celebration #1,” “Shangri Lah,” “Bad Love”
“So now you have a tape recorder. You have a device that is capable of capturing sounds. The sounds around us. With that in mind, it is bad that the tape recorder should be considered as a plaything, a toy to amuse oneself and one’s friends at the occasional party, and then to be neglected in some dark corner along with the fancy hats.”
Cutting into and out of frequency on the album’s opener “Celebration #1,” the telling words of an uppity fellow careen against a bundle of magnetic grooves, sonic riffs, and vintage tenors. Night Beats sample and implement the recording’s intellect to their favor, to capture the prominent tendency of constructing tape recorder albums that convert captured sounds into “distinctive” playlists. There’s a Dadaist attempt to turn over convictions to reinvent and generate an album that recycles ingenuity ‒ let’s see if it’s successful.
Seattle Psychedelic Rock trio Night Beats veer confidently on their third album WHO SOLD MY GENERATION? with their own ready-made brew of bluesy-psychedelia. DIY-fuzz shaven clean by co-producer Robert Levon Been of coiffed alt-rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, the album’s recording dons a callous, R&B feistiness. Known for their 60s revivalist proclivities, Night Beats extract the ragged, outback psychedelia pioneered by OG garage-rockers The Seeds and playfully drizzle it over some beatnik spoken word, stoned swing numbers, and arabesque assemblies. It’s a collection of varied derivatives that congregate to form a satisfactory sonic rock album that’s mostly evocative and partially accessible.
For comparison’s sake
“Shangri Lah” is an unapologetic rendering of 60s folk-rock outfit Love’s “Softly To Me.” Romantically galloping around the fringes of rock and soul, the song reclaims the artistry of gifted singer/songwriter Arthur Lee, but fails to adequately paraphrase the plagiarism.
“Bad Love” is the soulful, poppy jingle that seals the band’s assured path towards pure imitation of The Temptations and The Pleasure Seekers. Down to the rattling tambourines, blues-drenched guitar licks, and whimpering trombones, Night Beats’ fuzzy swagger is dulled by excessive replication.
https://open.spotify.com/track/55HIqocDxT6h0yWnFdTOM1https://open.spotify.com/track/0QiV0NOTq9NCKBjyBJ9nMs
WHO SOLD MY GENERATION? is a well-mixed tribute to some stunning 60s garage bands that lacks novelty, the only thing such an endeavor would have going for it in the first place. Gripping onto their tape recorder too tightly, Night Beats have lost sight of generating their own sound in exchange for an album that shamelessly borrows from an older generation. A needle in a massive haystack of emerging and innovative psych-rock bands, Night Beats’ sardonic infringement disservices their mission to stand out. WHO SOLD MY GENERATION? calls itself out, but who’s really listening?
Verdict: Do Not Recommend
Sabina Fooks
Sabina's a guest contributor here at Crossfader. When she's not preoccupied with consuming copious amounts of FAMILY FEUD and cereal, you can find her at your local music venue, fiercely avoiding her hankering for more Steve Harvey and frosted mini wheats.
