Rockbites: Imperial Teen go disco on new LP 'On'

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April 2002 • Rockbites Alternative Daily

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Imperial Teen go disco on new LP 'On'
17 April 2002

San Francisco pop/rock quartet Imperial Teen (well, Roddy Bottum and Will Schwarz now live in LA, while Jone Perko and Lynn Stebbins remain in SF) last week released their third album, 'On.' It’s the most danceable and coherent of their records, evoking some of the feel of Boston’s ’70s into ’80s new wave/dance act The Cars while proving that this band have more range than anyone could have guessed.
    Imperial Teen, who landed on Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Merge Records recently after getting dumped from Slash/London in the major label mega-consolidation frenzy of 1999, are too cool and too smart to content themselves with stagnation or with regurgitation of successful formulae. On doesn’t sound much like their other stuff. Gone are any of the lo-fi moments from Seasick, their 1996 debut. Gone as well are most of the dark noise & black light from What Is Not To Love, their 1999 follow-up. On is bright, high-contrast, bubbly, insidiously erotic, and super energetic.
    More prominent drum machine and synths than before—and guitars, percussion, and piano played with sequencer-style repetitiveness—give On a bit of the retro-futuristic sterility of bands like Depeche Mode or recent-era Buzzcocks. But happier. And throughout, the album somehow retains an intimate, honest, and human feel. Very tasty.
    And On is multilayered in the best intelligent-pop sense, sounding just as good when heard in the background on the radio, or under scrutiny inside headphones with the multi-fold, signal-yellow lyric sheet in your hands.
    Even on the LP’s downtempo ballads—Undone and The First—a savvy optimism shines through. On is the cop-a-feel-good record of the season. Four bites out of five.

Rockbites ratings  5: life changing, 4: stunning, 3: captivating, 2: amusing, 1: annoying.

| Imperial Teen | | Merge Records | | review/interview from SF Chronicle | | CD from Amazon US | | discography | | top of page |

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