The Generators

The Winter Of Discontent

[4/5] For fans of the Generators, some material on The Winter Of Discontent will be quite familiar-five songs were featured as bonus tracks on the U.S. version of Excess Betrayal…And Our Dearly Departed. But that repetition can be seen as a good thing, because a few of the repeats, namely “Here I Go” and the unsurpassable pair of “All Brand New” and “Crawling On Top,” are among the long-running band’s pre-eminent work, full of spirit but also laced with inherent melancholy. And then there’s the new material on Winter (finally seeing its U.S. release-the album’s been out in Europe since ’05) that proves beyond a doubt the guys’ finest days aren’t behind them, what with the no-frills, punk-infused rock ’n’ roll band featuring former Schleprock-ers Doug Kane (vocals) and Dirty Ernie Berru (drums) ripping through powerhouse tunes like “Room With A View” and the poignant “In Memory Of.” (SAILOR’S GRAVE; sailorsgraverecords.com) Janelle Jones