Imperial Teen

Feel The Sound

BY Michael EdwardsPublished Jan 31, 2012

After yet another five-year gap, Imperial Teen are back with album number five and there's been a bit of an alteration to their plan of attack. This time around, Imperial Teen embrace repetition and wearing down the listener down into submission. And it definitely works, at least initially. Opener "Runaway," with its clumsy rhyming couplets and simple melody, sets the tone for what lies ahead and is the kind of tune that will get stuck in anybody's head for days. And there's nothing wrong with that, the problem is that Feel The Sound isn't very exciting. Its very business-like approach is far too economic for its own good, as the consistent reliance on recurring keyboard riffs and sing-along choruses makes everything blend together. It isn't awful, but this isn't the Imperial Teen of yesteryear that knew how to write intelligent pop songs. These are just plain pop songs, the kind too many other indie pop bands are making. Feel The Sound is a disappointment.
(Merge Records)

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