Surviving the Suburbs felt fairly narrative, with time and place and specific events laid out.

Like many adventurous records, there isn’t a ton of cohesion. It’s more pastiche than previous efforts, sort of like a mystery bag of tracks. It’s hard to not hold Generation of Me against its predecessors.

It’s not entirely stripped back, though – and things continue to build toward the end as even drums enter the mix. “All Time Low” falls in line with songs from American English, painting lyrical pictures of city life over bassy, dark piano parts. “Perfect American Girl” is upbeat bright and Dora Jar’s guest feature cements this as one of the most single-friendly tracks on the album. “What’s On Your Mind?” seems to pair CeeLo snark with AJR accessibility. The title track opens the album, channeling The Strokes. Thankfully, Miller continues his trend of throwing in a few bangers in. Both acts have a penchant for unpredictability, diverse sonic pallets, and stellar songwriting. But there are striking similarities in genre crossover and experimentation that come from a sparse, piano-pop origin. Admittedly, Miller was on the scene first. I can’t help but be reminded a bit of scarypoolparty. This is not the same Tor Miller from “Midnight”. Take “Only Miss You (When I Feel Alone)”, a darkly-cinematic rock track that verges on industrial, with booming synthesizers and a bit of vocal processing. These tracks are still tangible and well-anchored, but there are moments where it’s clear risks about on the record. The album art this time around feels somewhat Bowie-esque, and that’s not inconsequential. Miller’s vocal command is as powerful ever as he croons, belts, floats, and waltzes across these songs.

Tor miller always