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Feb 01, 2012 Issue #39 - Best of 2011 By John Everhart

Imperial Teen have been making records since 1996’s Seasick, long enough to write a how-to manual on the keyboard driven power pop formula. Frontman Roddy Bottum can wax downbeat on “No Matter What You Say,” catatonically intoning “It’s not a crisis/So much to tell,” stop on a dime and make you feel 10 feet tall with a gloriously infectious chorus of “No matter what you say/With your foot on the ground we can turn it around.”

The see-saw crunch of “Last to Know” is purist pop in the vein of The New Pornographers, with Bottum keening, “Were you the last to know/Were you the last to go,” before the battering ram, ELO-esque chorus kicks in, plowing you over with locomotive momentum. This band may not be as commercially successful as its peers, and this likely won’t change with Feel the Sound, but those who invest the time will be rewarded with a record rife with glorious hooks, harmonies, and heart. (www.imperialteen.com)

Author rating: 7/10