Imperial Teen

The '90s are so over they're retro, and Imperial Teen has, accordingly, grown up and removed the last vestiges of alt-angsty jangle pop from their sound on their long-awaited fourth album. They've filled in the gaps with quirk and sugar, which is particularly charming on the campy "Fallen Idol" and the B-52's-meets-Le Tigre electro-poppy "Sweet Potato." More evidence of Teen's age comes in the form of the album title, which refers to what the band members have been doing in the five years since their last album: hair, composing TV soundtracks, making babies and Hey Willpower.

So about that title. Hair: Jone Stebbins tours with her styling scissors. TV: Roddy Bottum
scored the defunct ABC series Help Me Help You. Baby: Lynn Truell, nee Perko, is
pregnant in her booklet photo. Which leaves Will Schwartz as the band, still harboring
dreams that these veteran art-pop up-and-comers will someday be remunerative as well as
catchy. Catchy they remain on their belated fourth album -- also bright, dynamic,... More >

So about that title. Hair: Jone Stebbins tours with her styling scissors. TV: Roddy Bottum scored the defunct ABC series Help Me Help You. Baby: Lynn Truell nee Perko is pregnant in her booklet photo. Which leaves Will Schwartz as the band, still harboring dreams that these veteran art-pop up-and-comers will someday be remunerative as well as catchy. Catchy they remain on their belated fourth album--also bright, dynamic, tender, brainy, unpretentious, and civilly pansexual. But after barely playing out in five years, are they a band on the strength of a written-from-memory title tune about touring's frantic rush? Or of "Room With a View," about a rehearsal space where you can pretend you're "twenty for life"? Or of "Fallen Idol," in which Schwartz complains or admits: "Since I've gone solo/"We've hit a new low"? That low is pretty high. But nobody can pretend to be twenty forever. (Grade - *** 1/2)