Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Afternoon Show host Kevin Cole, is One Two
by Imperial Teen from the 2007 album The Hair The TV The Baby & The Band on Merge.
It is rare indeed to find an album these days this likeable from start to finish. In the five years Imperial Teen has been away, they have dabbled in everything from hair to television to apparent pregnancy. Fortunately, as the title lets on, it all comes back to the band. After their long hiatus, IT forgot little of what they left behind. The Hair The TV… carries all the garage-rock and synth-pop of their previous output and maintains their high level of pep, pep only New Pornographers can claim to contend with. Lyrically, this album outshines the others as each of the quartet’s members takes the mic on at least one track. It’s hard to believe this is an album made by middle-agers, but the band and listeners alike benefit from the years of experience that make this the tightest IT album and one of the biggest attention grabbers of the year. You can see Imperial Teen for free this evening at Queen Anne’s Easy Street Records (8pm) followed by a show at the Crocodile (9pm). Get caught up on Imperial Teen lore over at their MySpace page, and check out this video for Yoo Hoo
featuring footage from the movie Jawbreaker (Come on, you know you remember Jawbreaker):
One Comment
I couldn’t agree more with the statement that this record is great from song 1 to 12, and that’s really a rare thing. Not since Funeral by Arcade Fire, have I felt like a CD didn’t have any flop songs. But relative to Arcade Fire, Imperial Teen songs are seemingly much more simple, yet no less interesting. They all sound kind of similar but all sound so different. All are catchy, and they don’t get old, even after numerous listens. I suppose that’s the what separates the great pop bands from the good ones.