RARB last heard from The Generics seventeen years ago with the group's release Still Hungry, Still Singing. Cleverly named slow/down is a head tilter. Not that anyone would expect a 2-track release to have a profound arc and somehow feel as complete as a full-length album, but plenty of singles receive "5"s at RARB. The trouble with slow/down is that the disparities between tracks one and two make slow/down feel like a first draft. (Interestingly, seventeen years ago we were also talking about disparities within the same release for Still Hungry, Still Singing.)

Down has a lackluster DIY feel, especially in the vocal percussion and rap mixing. There's nothing wrong with home-crafting, but the sonic quality compared to the work of elite mixers and masters is certainly noticeable. Moreover, the sound is in stark contrast to the second song, Slow Dancing in the Dark, where the production is much cleaner (though the song is a hair lethargic and could have used a slight tempo increase). The only credit the group submitted for this project is Cut Off Studios. Did the studio produce both tracks? Unsure. Also, no arrangers, leads, vps, or original songwriters were provided, certainly taking the professionalism of the release down a notch. I'd like to offer specific praise to the lead working their magic on Slow Dancing in the Dark because it's certainly earned and befits the track nicely.

If this release is a keepsake for the group for the 2024-2025 school year, that's one thing. If the release was meant to be a representative product of the group's best abilities, The Generics will have to starch and iron the production and presentation wrinkles for the next go-around so we can all hear their work in a manner deserving of the group's talents.

It's a quick listen from The Generics on slow/down, who take us back with one of the songs from the summer I graduated high school (2009) with Jay Sean's Down (seriously, where did the time go?), alongside Joji's Slow Dancing in the Dark. This is a clever way to come up with the EP name, although I wish The Generics had maybe taken that to heart on the first track.

Starting with the latter track, the group doesn't deviate too much from the Joji original, but the song is smooth from start to finish, and I think the blend is solid across all voice parts. The group didn't provide any track notes with its submission, which is a shame because I want to shout-out the soloist for a job well done conveying the emotion of the piece along with their great vocals. But alas, I'm left saying well done into the void — hopefully, when The Generics release the full album (per social media), we can provide the proper praises.

On Down, however, the final product doesn't land with me in the same way as the other track. To start, while the vocal percussion does try to replicate the original as best it can, it is a bit too busy for my liking. This is most noticeable in the chorus, where the efforts of the group to try and mimic the drum pad in the original pulls away my focus from both the soloists and the background vocals. Although, that could have also been the mixing of the track, which is a bit too heavy in the percussion and not strong enough in the backgrounds. With each listen I gave, I had to really focus on blocking out the percussion to get a sense of what the backgrounds were doing, which wasn't an issue I had on Slow Dancing. Sure, there are times where we want certain vocal parts to "become the focus" of the song, and I certainly understand that. But, in my opinion, that doesn't mean that it should overpower the other parts while doing so; rather, just a shift in focus.

slow/down is a good teaser for the full album to come, and I'm certainly looking forward to that release when it drops.

This review isn't brief because it's just two tracks — it's brief because The Generics have given me little to really say. At least, about the first track.

Down is as vanilla as all-male collegiate a cappella gets. It's a cover of a conventional pop uptune, is inoffensive in execution, and does almost nothing to empower the group to make creative choices around it. The background voices are fine if a bit empty, the solo is fine if a bit safe, and the cover of Lil Wayne's rap verse is certainly attempting a 1:1 mimic.

Slow Dancing in the Dark may be another cover of a very popular song, but there is a lot more done to play and explore. The background vocals are far more full in sound than on Down, while the soloist does a bit more to distinguish himself from Joji's original vocals. Sometimes the background vocals sing a bit too strongly compared to the more gentle sound that appears intended in those spots, and the track also ends in an abrupt way that robs the listener of a bit of closure. While the original song ends like that too, it hits differently there for a number of reasons (most notably: the context of the rest of the album), and so porting the track over 1:1 loses something in the translation to an a cappella EP/single.

And so that's it! The tracks themselves, especially Down, don't leave much else to discuss. My biggest piece I'd give to The Generics: in the future, give me something to talk about. Find flavor and identity and reason for your next project, and double down on it. We already see a hint of that in Slow Dancing in the Dark, so next time, make it every song!