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Reader As Detective

by Generationals

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1.
I was around when the bridge got burned I take a lesson but I never learn And I walk my way And I don’t look back And they say it’s not that bad man But I think I’m running out of ways to believe that So I took apart my television I’d come to think I need a bigger one When I look back now Had we lost our heads You could tell I'm slipping backwards By the way I could not understand what the man said You were never there When I was a beaten broken person Knocking at your door I took you for a better friend But I've been wrong before I recommend what the old man said You gotta do it if you want to get ahead But if you want to get a heart you got to give yours to me And I think I’m slipping backwards So you can’t tell me to be there if you won’t be You were never there When I was a beaten broken person Knocking at your door I took you for a better friend But I've been wrong before
2.
I remember when you said to me I know you like a little mystery Trust implicitly, wariness poisons the heart And when the time comes to sink or swim Just remember that I let you in Take for given that nothing can tear us apart Woah oh oh I turned my back on the written word over you Woah oh oh Suppose you did all the things I heard, is that true? I know you lie I’ll supply for you all you need Take you anywhere you want to be I’ll be your guide when the darkness falls On your jaded weary eyes So when the time comes to sink or swim Just remember that I let you in And I gave you reason to question the rules that apply Woah oh oh I turned my back on the written word over you Woah oh oh Suppose you did all the things I heard, is that true? I know you lie
3.
You were shot down for banging on sidewalks Waking up sovereign states Raking up graves and wasting your common grace Creatures outside were posting your face up Dreaming up shadow plays If you could straighten that spine you got a way to decide your fate Instead of breaking your silence you could be the same way And keep your favors to yourself but They could see in your eyes there's not a thing they could say so Holding on tight to places you remember keeping your story straight Taking your time with friends you invite to your wake You’re so tired of waking up shaking facing your passing days Rolling in circles hoping the fever would break Instead of breaking your word, you can pay to make sure They never back the train up, but They can read in your mind you got a reason to stay
4.
I saw some people we know They told me you’re working on a list of all the virtues They told me you’re walking from Arizona to Kentucky Is that true I want somewhere else to go I want a place with a better vision of the future I’m living in a place where they lock up eight of every thousand That is true And I said ahhh The bigger the better remember Hold me close and try and keep it together And I can feel the fear come and pull us into the waves Here we go Over the news of the day Take a look into the root of division Bring it all back and tell me something I already know Here we are fighting the fight Getting by without a vision of the future Putting one foot in front of the other Here we go And I said ahhh The bigger the better remember Hold me close and try and keep it together And I can feel the fear come and pull us into the waves Here we go
5.
Gatekeeper 03:33
Wouldn't it be something if all of your predictions were right Getting your attention is too easy a thing to achieve Twenty-five years is longer than it took to decide And so I won't Make that choice again Cuz it won't mean so much if I edit what I say Holding on tight to feelings that could never come true Was it really worth the pain that you would put yourself through Holding back tears is all that you could do to survive And so I won't Risk it all again Cuz it would mean so much to see this to the end And so I won't Risk it all again Cuz it won't mean so much if I edit what I say
6.
Xeno Bobby 02:58
Xeno Bobby, you tell yourself you’re different than me Where does the time go Seems like a day ago I heard you say you’d never leave A hundred bones Would pay to see your face when you get home I bet you thought you could wait to keep all your stories straight You know you’re better off alone Xeno Bobby what did you do The things you said are coming back to you Apart from all the regrets you’re So easy to forget You’re already a relic too Wake me on the day You give a shit what other people say Remember youth is a time bomb The longer you hold on the sooner you evaporate
7.
All I found to get me through Was a vaguely worded promise said by you It’s turning out to be a perfect way To keep this place from burning down To tell you the truth Any time voices pierce the calm It's the most boring conversation ever Listening to people tell you your future Impatiently awaiting September Any time acquaintance call your number You anticipate feeling scared Recognize faces you remember From the long ago days of terror All I found to get me through Was a vaguely worded promise said by you It’s turning out to be a perfect way To keep this place from burning down To tell you the truth Always with that guilt and sadness Some days I would believe its true I'll wait for that empty promise I'll take what I can get from you
8.
I'm just a deadbeat shiver And I need your one last dollar to get me to the end Get me to the end How did I get so broken And yet I sleep so civil And yet I can pretend Yea I do pretend I’m just a full time taker And I need your one last dollar to get me to the end Get me to the end How did I get so broken And yet I sleep so civil And yet I can pretend Yea I do pretend How does it cut not deeper again When you’re fighting for all your fights much deeper in And do the words not suffer the longer you go I'm just a deadbeat shiver I need your one last dollar to get me to the end How did I get so broken And yet I sleep so civil And yet I can pretend Yea I do pretend How does it cut not deeper again When you’re fighting for all your fights much deeper in And do the words not suffer the longer you go
9.
I’m hoping that you found a reason to believe it There’s nothing else you could do I’m guessing you could feel relief
 When all your friends think it too I wouldn’t take it so far I know that pages still are empty And I’m not here to concede One day you’ll break my heart, it’s true You wouldn’t wait I’m guessing outside the reasons you stated
 There’s nothing keeping you here I’m hoping all this time you waited 
 You were keeping it loose I wouldn’t do you so dirty Friends would never say it And I’m not judging the tears I couldn’t wait for you to face up to the truth 
 You look away
 Was it really that bad? You can’t pretend you wasted all the feelings you had Lets not pretend at all the reasons you’re back
 There's not a single soul who believes it's all bad
10.
Dream Box 05:24
You can’t find the real thing That’s your favorite thing to say I listen to how you talk And the words that you thought you couldn’t save You shout out the first thing That I thought you’d understate It’s a lesson in how you caught All the friends you run across and interchange Outside of friends who don’t remember your name There’s not a single one It’s good to fantasize on the things you’d say You’re not a friend at all You’re making a big show Of a tiny fiction They may not believe you But don’t be afraid Now that I gave you what you wanted They may not trust you But that’s the price you pay You faded into darkness You shout out the first thing That I thought you’d understate It’s a lesson in how you talk And the words you run across and interchange Outside of friends who won’t remember your name There’s not a single one It’s good to fantasize on the things you’d say You’re not a friend at all You faded into darkness You’re making a big show Of a tiny fiction They may not believe you But don’t be afraid

about

From their inception Generationals have existed at the convergence of classic style and contemporary technique. Students of an analog school actualized in a digital medium, Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner have always felt most comfortable reveling in this juxtaposition. Grounded in a catalog of infectious pop hooks that feel both familiar and radically new all at once, Generationals mastered their distinct voice as a means to widen the path before them.

Reader As Detective, their new full-length album, weds vintage pop canon and modern pop production in a way this duo has proven incomparably adept. From the cornerstone sample of “I Turned My Back on the Written Word,” (a recontextualization of an unreleased b-side) to the playful synths & stuttered drums of “Dream Box,” and jogging rhythms of "Breaking Your Silence," Generationals continue to push the envelope by playing by their own rules.

In the years following their last album, Alix, the band experimented by releasing one-off singles and videos immediately upon their completion, which eventually formed 2018’s State Dogs collection. This method – an exploratory dive in shirking the nature of traditional album rollouts – refined how they approached writing. Freed from the album-cycle mentality, the pair was able to focus on each track autonomously, rather than as a fragment of a larger batch of songs.

Reader As Detective is the result of purposeful time spent honing Generationals’ craft as progressive songwriters. With the help of producer and longtime collaborator Dan Black, they dug into new methods of creation with a fearlessness for experimentation that is equally vital to the experience of both artist and listener. With Reader As Detective, Generationals have reached a high-water mark in an already noteworthy career – isolation and celebration set to a major key.

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released July 19, 2019

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