For their third studio album Seattle based trio Night Beats are poising the question, Who Sold My Generation? Set for release in January next year, the record comes sealed with the band’s signature groovy drawl. Like a wild nostalgic road trip across the great frontier, it jets from 0-100, and is full of racy adventure.

But oozing from their freeform nomadic attitude is a a weightier message, and they’ve got a lot to say about our current climate. Their unruly cowboy persona is certainly not for show, it’s in their blood, and they’re channelling it to address what’s important, whilst proposing their own self explanatory alternative.

LY: Where did the title for your new album Who sold my generation? originate?
DLB: It’s a question and a statement. A lot of it has to do with the current state of our living in America, musically, politically. Someone somewhere sold something. But I want to pose the question to everyone who picks it up and listens to it.

LY: Do you think the raw sound of the album fights against the current climate?
DLB: I’d like to think so, but the idea is not to rebel consciously it’s to raise questions and to look at things in a way that’s natural and honest.

LY:How would you sum up the essence of the album?
DLB: Another chapter in the Night Beats catalogue. Gil Scott Heron The Revolution Will Not Be Televised meets Rock and Roll record and consistent underlining R ‘n’ B vibe.

LY: Do you think that political edge is the main thing that makes this album different from the last?
DLB: Yeah probably. But also Robert Levon Been from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. It was an unexpected collaboration and he bought incredible basslines and harmonies that I would never have thought of on my own. He’s a really good friend with a great take on things and he was so honestly invested in it. He’s one of the best songwriters I’ve ever met, it was a great honour to have him on board.

LY: What was the atmosphere like in the recording studio?
DLB: It was in this household in Echo Park where we created a home studio. We recorded live on tape as always and it keeps things natural. If the first take isn’t perfect, we just keep it.

LY:The album feels like it has some adventure and stories behind it, almost like some kind of road trip. Where does that energy come from?
DLB: It’s in my blood, that feeling of movement is instinctual. The travel comes with my lifestyle, and it breeds creation and inspiration.

LY: If you could propose an ideal situation to listen to your album in what would it be?
DLB: Driving on the highway really fast at night in the desert, stars all around you, with a really good speaker system.

LY:The Texan cowboy influences are strong on the album. 
DLB: A lot of the cowboy lifestyle is rooted in solitude, being by yourself with the land, the animals. Like the true essence of stoicism, that comes with the territory. Musically it’s always something I’ll gravitate toward, I can relate to it. There’s always that cool element too that we’re lucky enough to have under our belt you know!

LY: How do you think it channels through the music?
DLB: I think it’s the whole “there’s not a lot of room for bullshit”. We don’t try to rely on thrills. We have style but our style is rooted in a basic sense, it’s not glam, it’s not trying to be cool.

LY: Yeah it’s authentic, it’s just there.
DLB: I’m a cowboy at heart, that’s what we all are, each member of the band.

LY: Do you have a favourite Western movie?
DLB: Giant, James Dean, great book too.

LY: Did any non-musical art or literature influence the album?
DLB: A lot of the root of inspiration comes down to Ginsberg’s Howl. I was also reading an Aleister Crowley book, very interesting and esoteric, all over the place. Dostoyevsky, Brothers Karamazov is always a reference point, Watership Down, Animal Farm, that dichotomy of human civilization in the form of creatures… Everything affects everything.  A couple of things appear in our song Last train to Jordon in particular which is a sort of mix between a spiritual hymn and a psychedelic trip! Blending the line between mysticsm and spirituality.. but I never try to be overtly symbolic.

LY: Do you have a favourite lyric on the album?
DLB: One that I stand by the most is in No Cops. “Even the cops gonna give me a hard time/ain’t going to lose my cool/I just gotta find a good line.” That makes me relax inside every time I say it. “Another body on the curb downtown, too scared to even smile when the piper comes in town.” That’s obviously about the killings, all these poor souls that have been shot down. Its not a celebratory line but it’s truthful. People are afraid to say their mind, I’ve never shied away from politics. I believe in what I say. You are what you say.

LY: Do you feel its important to spread these messages when you tour the album?
DLB: If someone asks then I’ll answer but I’m definitely not trying to give my opinion where it’s not necessary. Because essentially I’m here to provide entertainment. I may be a poet, a writer but when it comes down to playing rock n roll, it’s the entertainment business!

LY: How’s the tour been?
DLB: Good. Always fun playing new shit, freaking people out. When they expect something and then you play something new that you believe in, it’s cool. It’s an experiment, everything should be an experiment.

LY: And what are you up to this evening?
DLB: Just about to walk into a jam session at my friends house in Austin, going to jam some Velvet Underground and blues.

Night Beats release Who Sold My Generation? on 29th January 2016 via Heavenly Recordings.