Imperial Teen

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The 2012 Line-up

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Friday Feb 24 7:00 PM on Café du Nord

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Imperial Teen
Feel The Sound
$13.98

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San Francisco’s Imperial Teen isn’t going to throw a fit if you show up in the wrong outfit to its Sweet 16 birthday party, just come ready to have a good time. Imperial Teen can’t be pigeonholed into one type-cast genre, even though they’ve been around since 1996. While it’s easy to call them a “‘90s band,” and yes, they’d be great on a mixtape with The Pixies, Hole, and Superdrag, unlike many ‘90s bands Imperial Teen is still making relevant, fresh, and beautiful music.

Fuzzy guitars and lo-fi drums stand opposite the tonal color wheel from lush male and female har- monies, smooth lead vocals, and catchy hooks. The melodies are often so catchy it’s all one can do not to sing along whilst head-nodding, ear budded, on public transportation. Keyboards play an essential role in many Imperial Teen songs, with thoughtful placement used for more than just ear candy.

These Godfathers of indie pop released their first new record in five years, Feel the Sound (Merge Re- cords), on Jan. 31. They’ve kept their signature har- monies, catchy hooks, and rich arrangements, but it’s noticeably new. That loveable ‘90s band we all grew up with is still there, but it’s tighter and more sophisticated. There’s more grooves than you can shake a booty at. Things change, and things stay the same—that will happen over the course of 16 years of making music.

Founded by Roddy Bottum (Faith No More), Lynn Perko, Jone Stebbins and Will Schwartz in 1995, the members often switch instruments during shows, keeping the songs diverse while maintaining an identifiable, yet unclassifiable sound.

NICOLAS GRIZZLE

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