Devotees of C-86 Indiepop have already been blessed this year. January brought us Parisians, En Attendant's sparkling Juillet while February offered us an almost equally beguiling offering in Providence's Strawberry Generation debut album Afloat.
Alvvays must take a lot of credit for the clutch of gorgeous, tuneful but determinedly indie records we've enjoyed in recent times. Strawberry Generation have clearly taken notes from the winning formula they established over their first two albums because they seemed to forge a way out of the join the dots cul de sac that so many of these kinds of records have ended up in. Strawberry Generation follow Alvvays lead and reap the rewards here.
Ultimately records like these live and die on the strength of their songs and Afloat scores pretty highly in this respect. There's no lack of ambition evident on show even though they obey the strictures of the genre to a fault. Alternating between boy and girl lead vocals is certainly a major part of this record's appeal. Most of the songs seem to confine themselves to the subject matter of first love. But the tunes themselves are consistently ringing and buoyant and in the case of standout track When You Were Here and I Was Sad almost transcendent. It's one of the best songs I've heard this year.
Not every song here matches the heights they scale there but this is certainly a verdant and promising debut. Strawberry Generation take their name from a popular contemporary Chinese expression berating the shallowness of modern youth. This Strawberry Generation may have a soft centre but that is very much the core of their appeal. Altogether fruity!
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