No Silver/No Gold by The Baptist Generals (Review)

There’s a danger inherent in over-anticipating a record, or anything else for that matter. You obsess on what you think is coming, you chart it’s progress the best you can, and you imagine what the final product will be. If what actually arrives doesn’t match what you were hoping for, it tends to be met with a sigh and a gradual slide in obscurity. Such is the case with the new Baptist Generals record.

The Denton act’s debut was a revolution of tape hiss and hollered vocals, one that sent me on an immediate quest for a copy of the extended European release because the domestic version just didn’t hold enough. The extended release was simply a longer version of the bliss. News of the band’s signing with indie rock big boys Sub Pop was met with glee and an immediate grab for the band’s teaser EP and a further whetting of the appetite for this record. Then the record came, I listened a couple times, and pretty much forgot about it.

So what’s the problem? Much as was the case with Richard Buckner’s last album, the band just set the bar impossibly high for themselves. There’s nothing that needs changing on that early release. There’s an alcohol-fueled madness to it, a burning energy and tension to spare throughout. This new album contains all of the same elements that made the debut so great, but that palpable energy seems lacking. The problem might lie in the curious choice to make so much of the album downtempo, a move sure to siphon off energy by the bucketful.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a good record, and at times even a very good one. The band’s curious take on Americana is every bit as distinct as it ever was, but at the end of the day when I’m jonesing for a bit of Generals action, this just isn’t the record I’m going to reach for.

Written by Chris Brown.