Review by LarryG
2 stars out of 4
Imperial Teen was originally a side project of Faith No More keyboardist
Roddy Bottum. It was a chance for Roddy to be in the spotlight and try
a lighter, looser sound than in his hard rock group. His band showed
a lot of talent for creating interesting pop songs. Imperial Teen's
first record, Seasick, was a lot of fun with buoyant songs like You're
One and Butch, which simulated the giddyness of a teen romance, and cocky
rockers like Waterboy and Blaming the Baby. Now Faith No More is
no more and Imperial Teen is Bottum's day job. It still sounds
like the band is having a good time making pop confections. Unfortunately,
the quality of the songs is not as high on What is Not to Love as it
was on Seasick. It starts well with 4 good songs. Birthday Girl is an
irresistable song. It's restrained on its verses, which create a nice
picture with Will Schwartz singing of an interesting, emotional young
woman and then the guitars and drums build and the song explodes into
the chorus with great big rock guitars. The band has a good collaborative
vibe and a smartass sense of humor. Both come out in Yoo-Hoo. The band
members create a spooky, forbidding atmosphere in their playing and
layered backup vocals. Meanwhile, on lead, the bratty voice
Schwartz often uses is appropriate as he plays a self important
"big shot rock star" Lipstick is a straight ahead rocker that
might be the best song on the album. Over a great driving beat Bottom
alludes to his homosexuality, mocking a rock star's efforts to separate
herself from her past: "why you got to be so proud, I'm the one with
lipstick on." After the good start, the band moves away from its
strength, its ability to make light, interesting rock and pop songs.
Alone in the Grass, apparently an environmental awareness song, is a
misguided attempt to make a trippy psychedelic song. It's somewhat
interesting but takes way too long to get where it's going. Then comes
the nearly catatonic Crucible. The band rights itself on the Beginning,
which has a nice sassy edge with buzzing guitars, Bottum's filtered vocals
and a nice groove driven by fun backup vocals. But the rest of What is
Not to Love is largely unmemorable. Year of the Tan is interestingly
made as Schwartz and drummer Lynn Perko sing overlapping lyrics. But
the actual content of the lyrics(he wants to dance, she doesn't) isn't
much and Schwartz' whining is annoying. Hooray starts with a nice groove
but doesn't go anywhere and Schwartz becomes irritating as the song
progresses. Imperial Teen are an interesting band and you can't
blame them for trying different things. But they work best when they
focus on what they do best: making great pop songs.
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