Imperial Teen have returned to the active column with Feel the Sound, their strongest release yet.
Gold medal-caliber relay racing is one metaphor for the group’s approach to making Feel the Sound. Recording in bursts between busy stretches of daily life, Imperial Teen would take leave of songs and come back to them, bringing new perspectives and approaches to each incarnation; the result is an intuitive command and confidence so fully present that a track such as the richly dark “Over His Head” ends right when it seems ready to morph into yet another form of beauty. This is the rare group that not only can do such a thing but can afford to, because the next song brings another reward.
Band members also share wordsmith duties, grabbing spoken phrases from each other and passing lyrics back and forth in a manner that allows songs to have more than one true meaning or story. Most of all, the collaborative spirit of the album—an Imperial Teen signature from the first notes of their theme song on 1996’s Seasick that has never been more potent and intense than today—yields a sound that feels classic and contemporary.
A great vocalist once described singing as an act of being that is becoming, and on Feel the Sound, Imperial Teen become more vital than ever.
Imperial Teen will play the Noise Pop Festival in San Francisco on February 24 at Cafe du Nord.