Our Generation by Flora Cash | Album Review
Swedish/American band Flora Cash experiments with an electronic sound beautifully on this 2021 release.
I first discovered Flora Cash’s music after stumbling upon their label advertising one of their records among several other artists. My first taste of their sound was from the group’s 2019 Press EP. While I liked the sound of their big hit “You’re Somebody Else”, I felt the majority of the project was a bit too generic to really catch my attention. I decided to revisit the duo’s work after getting a small taste of their latest release Our Generation. I was pleasantly surprised by the growth in their sound as they dived into more alternative and electronic realms on this release. Band members Shpresa Lleshaj and Cole Randall told Flaunt they wanted to go for a more dynamic set of emotions for this release:
“We spent a lot of time making sure this record conveys a wider range of feelings than anything else we’ve put out so far, and we think we did that.”
The album opens slow burn of “When I Was Young”. It’s dark piano pop sound works well against the overarching theme of being jaded. Cole looks back at his childhood dreams of making it big in the music business. With age came disillusionment around attempting to reach those heights, “Yeah, when I was young, used to dream about a headline show/ I’d sing my songs, and reach someone/ But I learned that I can’t buy faith/ And I can’t buy certainty.” The two come together in the song’s chorus which could double as both a love letter to each other and to their fans on this artistic journey they’ve been on since the beginning.
Shpresa takes the helm on the second track “Don’t You Look At Me That Way”. I really like the vulnerability she puts into her voice. The band keeps the song stripped down to pair bones acoustics until the second verse. The hum of the synth bass gives more tension to the song. Lleshaj grapples with her internal demons that have arisen over time. This identity crisis has brought out more insecurities in how her partner looks at her, “But now lately I’ve been terrified/ And I wonder why, am I going crazy?/ You’ve been tryna help me live a lie/ But it’s in your eyes, you can’t even face me/ Don’t you look at me that way.” I love how fleshed out this sounds.
The duo brings a unique texture to “Over”. The metallic synth beats, flute samples, and bass have such an ominous vibe to them. I really like this shift to an electronic sound they are experimenting with. It really suits their voices quite well. This punctuates the pain brought on by the death of a relationship, “You’re over me, over us, over/ The only thing I’ve ever/ Loved more than my mother/ And now you’re really/ Over me, over us, over.” They do a great just building tension that accentuates the feelings of fear and sorrow surrounding the subject.
Shpresa again takes the lead on “Pretty Things, Spotlight and Sleep”. The two go for a darker vibe through the song’s dark and heavy synth and nocturnal guitar. Even Lleshaj’s vocals feel a little lazy mirroring the emotionally stagnant place she sings on. The duo dives into the emptiness they feel in their current state, “Caffeine, nicotine and weed/ That’s what we live off/ Pretty things, spotlight and sleep/ That’s what we live for.” They’re lost in their vices and apathy, yet know they can escape this rut if they can muster the gumption.
“Holy Ghost and Hallelujah” sees Cole toying with some auto-tune on his vocals in a similar melodic effect to Bon Iver. The juxtaposition between this robotic vocal effect and the subtle effects on the acoustic guitar makes the song a much more interesting listen. Randall releases his frustrations as he reaches for a tangible grain of hope, “Holy ghost and hallelujah/ I’m running on empty/ So I’m finally on my knees/ I don’t care if I belong here/ ’Cause I need a feeling/That I’ve got somewhere to be.” The watery effects of auto-tune bring to mind a spiritual aspect of his moment of need.
We go in a country direction on “I Tell Myself Lies”. Shpresa’s vocals sound quite luscious against the dusty cry of slide guitar and warm production quality. Here, the duo explores the feeling of regret and loneliness around how a relationship came to an end. Lleshaj aches over all things left unsaid that might have salvaged their love, “I’ll admit I don’t regret what I said, but what I didn’t/ That’s what hurts me the most if I’m being honest/ I miss your lips the way you spoke with a smile/ Before we kissed, the little notes that you wrote/ That I keep in my pocket.” This country music treatment pairs well with the lonesome state Shpresa is in.
“Time Machine” seems to call back a bit some of the cooler singer/songwriter flavors they experimented with on earlier albums. They do bring a modern indie-pop take to this sound with its slow yet driving beat. This is sort of the male perspective of the prior song. Cole wishes desperately to go back in time to at least be with his lost love, “I wish I had a time machine/ I’d take a trip and then, I’d take a picture of the scene/ I wouldn’t interfere/ I only wanna whisper that ‘I love you’ in your ear.” I just don’t connect with it as much as “I Tell Myself Lies”.
“You’re a Star, Baby” has the most astronomical tone brought out by the synth tones used here. The backing beat keeps the song from feeling too amorphous. My only gripe is the high-pitched vocal sample that comes in after the chorus. It’s something used in many indie-pop acts that I find more grating than anything. Cole beckons his partner to keep faith in him and their relationship, “Don’t you give up on me/ You’ve got heights to reach/ You’re a star, baby/ Don’t you give up the dream/ There’s no time to sleep/ You’re a star.” He looks to her like the guiding light of the northern star and would feel lost without her presence.
Shpresa’s sometimes cursive singing style works much better on the pop-oriented “The Bright Lights”. While a slow-burning piano track, the production gives dimension to the song that works well against the furnishing of her relaxed vocals and Cole’s auto-tuned backing. There is something a little chill-hop about the song that makes this feel more natural. The band provided the following insight behind the meaning of the track on Genius:
“Overall, the song is about being addicted to your struggles and your vices; self-sabotaging for the thrill of the darkness but knowing that ultimately you’re capable of more and being determined to eventually actualize the ‘more’ that you are. Beyond that, the song also touches on our experiences with and around people who struggle with addictions or personal habits that slowly grind them down until they’re in some hole somewhere trying to figure out how they got there. But we believe people can climb their way out of anything and the song is meant to be a reminder to have hope and courage no matter how bad it gets.”
The song’s chorus reassures us that the comfort they are seeking will come all they have to do is push past the darkness. I quite like the overall vibe that the group created with this song.
“Soul Mate” is the most singer/songwriter-flavored song on this project. They keep it quiet with only plucked acoustic guitar, strings, and piano to light the hushed vocals. Lyrically, it’s not my favorite on the album. Some of the lines feel a little awkward, “Feels like we’ve lived a hundred lives before/ Together and then decided on one more/ Here on Earth where everything is cruel/ ’Cause no one knows that this is just a school.” I think the sentiment of finding someone you feel you’ve known for lifetimes is very touching. I just wish the lyrics had a little more development.
The first song I listened to off of this album was “We Used to Laugh/9 to 9”. I really loved the stark production that blurs between moody alt-pop and electronic. Shpresa’s vocals soar beautifully throughout the song. I love the hook, “A hole and opened up my heart/ A hole and opened up my heart/ Never come back/ We used to laugh.” Lleshaj mourns the once strong bound they used to have that has now rusted away into a shell of its former self. I find myself returning to this song the most of the album and really dig its overall atmosphere.
We lean into the indie-pop songbook with the ukelele forward “A Good Childhood”. Sonically, this song feels a little too one the noise to be something that I would return to. Something about the ukelele, claps, and piano work feels a bit too commercial. It’s a shame because I think lyrically Cole takes a more personal route. Randall looks back on his childhood and wishes he had his partner with him back then to help steer him in the right direction. I just don’t jive with the quirky nature that this indie-pop treatment gives this song. It’s probably the weakest on the album for me.
The duo does some really interesting vocal experimentation with Shpresa’s vocals “Feeling So Down”. She comes off almost Grimes-like with how she is pitched. Cole takes a more aggressive sort of hip-hop style to his vocal pieces. While familiar, I think it brings something interesting and fresh against the wash of synths and mellow grooves. The duo comes together in their collective sorrow from the end of this relationship, “We were two lost souls living in a black hole/ They say life goes on but I don’t think so/ I don’t wanna live, I wanna die, even so/ I just hope you’ll wait for me.” While a bit simplistic, I do like how everything comes together here. It’s a fun listen.
We close the album with the ambient lead single “Were You Ever With Me?”. Lleshaj provides the lead vocals to this track as it hiss with the sample of white noise and the warm glow of the synth organ. It’s by far the most ear-catching song on this record. The duo discussed how this track's evolution from its 2018 demo really changed their perspective on it in their Fader interview:
“When we were putting together the tracklist for our generation, we stumbled upon it and totally reinvented the production, but kept the original vocals and suddenly it grabbed us in a way it hadn’t before. We wrote this track at a particularly rough point in our relationship and ended up sleeping in separate parts of our apartment the night before. Writing ‘were you ever with me?’ was basically couple’s therapy and got us through the rough spot.”
You can hear her questioning how they got to this point and if they are really ever really on the same page, “Were you ever with me? I mean really with me/ Were you ever with me there?” Out of all the songs on the album, this one was the most surprising find. It’s an excellent closer.
I am very happy with the overall production quality of this album. Aside from a few generic indie-pop moments, they have stepped out of their comfort zone and into a sound that feels more natural to them. Both Shpresa and Cole sound great through the variety of filters and effects they use on their voices. I wish there were some more diversity in some of the themes on this record. A large portion of the songs seem to focus on the end of a relationship. This may have been very important to them at the time; I just wish some other angles were explored. Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this album. If you are a fan of moodier alt-pop, then you will get a kick out of this album. My overall breakdown of Our Generation:
Loved it: “Don’t You Look At Me That Way”, “Over”, “Holy Ghost and Hallelujah”, “The Bright Lights”, “We Used to Laugh/9 to 9”, “Feeling So Down” & “Were You Ever With Me?”
Liked it: “When I Was Young”, “Pretty Things, Spotlight and Sleep”, “I Tell Myself Lies”, “Time Machine” & “You’re a Star, Baby”
Disliked it: “Soul Mate” & “A Good Childhood”
My overall rating: 6.5 out of 10.
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