Imperial Teens', Feel The Sound, is an aurally expansive, very approachable, pop-rock album with 11 good tracks. (Of note, there are only 11 tracks on the album). There is one song over 4 minutes and one song shorter than 3 minutes, so, when I say "pop", I'm talking radio ready fare, not auto-tuned vocals over a drum machine and keyboards. The album is a bit of a break from their previous albums, but really good. It sounds like a weird love child from The Temper Trap, Getup Kids, Sleater-Kinney, a little Foo-Fighters and maybe a little Stone Temple Pilots? I dunno, hard to place at time.
You may remember Imperial Teens from their late 90's hit, Yoo-Hoo. It was used to great effect in a couple of teen movies (Jawbreaker, Not Another Teen Movie) back in the day. It remains a stupidly catchy pop song. While I've never seen it, their live set is supposed to be very fun as they're known to change instruments during the set--and not like, Hey, Roady, gimme a new guitar, but like, drummer goes to keyboard, guitarist goes to drums, keyboardist goes to guitar, swaps.
Also, the keyboardist is from Faith No More. Let me assure you now, they sound nothing like Faith No More.
The sound is bright and boppy--it'll get your feet tapping and your fingers drumming. It has pep, as the kids say. The album is a cohesive whole--the songs all sounds like they belong together. There are no real outlier tracks that leave you scratching your head and wondering if the song got cut from a previous album. The vocals are a mix of male, male/female, and female. There are a good number of harmonies and trade-offs, but no real duets, if that makes sense. The guitars are sparse and simple and there are no big giltar-solo's**, although the bass lines are tight enough to make Barry White jealous. Out From Inside has a bassline and beat that is straight out of mid-70's disco and if that song doesn't cause your toes to hum and dance I dunno what will. I should note that I say that it is a 70's disco beat and mean it is as a compliment. Say what you will about the overall disco movement, it remains better than any dance music published in the 80's and most of the 90's.
The vocals, drums and piano are the real musical hero's here. While there is variation in the gender singing, Imperial Teens have always been believers in the falsetto, so, there isn't that much variation even between the different genders. The biggest might actually be that the women sing in a bit of a breathier fashion, while the guy sings in a more traditional manner. Overall, tight vocals that sound natural--no autotuner here. The drums just drive this album--there isn't a song on the album that doesn't have a solid beat or set the tone and flavor for the song. More than that, though, the drums are actually interesting. Many of the beats are pretty standard but the fills and bridges turn what could be ordinary into something compelling.
The piano, unlike the drums varies in use and effectiveness. It is probably the biggest variable on the album. Largely absent from some songs, it defines others. I list it as a strength here because with those songs where it defines the song, the songs soar.
I would check out, Runaway (the first track), Last to Know, All The Same, Out from Inside, and Overtaken to see if you like it. You can easily preview the songs via Amazon--and I think they have the album for 5 bucks right now.
Feel The Sound is a catchy and very repeatable. It'll be a great spring/summer album and has that light-hearted, enjoyable quality that really defines great warm-weather listening.
**giltar solo = gilded guitar solo, which I would classify as those things where there's a 15 second solo of 10-12 notes and the guitar player is wailing and acting like they just dropped some Clapton in your ear-holes. In other words, a BS guitar solo. For examples see: Coldplay, Maroon 5, etc
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