On

This is an awesome album. It might not seem like it the first time you listen to it, but it grows on you the more you listen to it.

imperial teen has some excellent albums. this one is good, but i'd start with seasick and what is not to love

Yay! That's the word that best sums up the latest collection of boy-girl vocal harmonies, neo-1960s pop, and retro indie bubblegum from Imperial Teen. The irresistible "Baby" shows off their bouncier side, while the lovely "Undone" leaks out a simple, bittersweet melody. Many moods in between are represented as well.They wear their influences on their sleeves, which gets annoying. On derivative songs like "Captain," you may get so distracted wondering which early '80s-retro-'60s band they're imitating that you lose track of an otherwise beautiful song. "Teacher's Pet" gets the classic Cheap Trick treatment, while "City Song" sound like Belle & Sebastian transported to 1967, singing about girls in Ashrams. '90s moments echo Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, and Stereolab.But if you can turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream while you listen, you'll find this a pleasurable record with a gentle charm all its own.(A version of this review was published in Venus. These words are owned by their author and posted here legally.)

What I love about Imperial Teen is their ornery playfulness. Where on their debut they were in-your-face provocateurs, with On this intergender group are giddy seducers barely containing their enthusiasm. These 12 tracks pass at a clip with goofy handclaps and sing-along choruses abounding (though fat chance any of them will get on the radio). They seem slight at first, fizzy like the lightest champagne, but with a kick. "Baby" might be a love song to a dog or God. "Sugar" invokes the secret thrill of interracial love. "My Spy" flirts with bisexuality. "Our Time" celebrates the sexual liberation manifest not only in San Francisco, where Imperial Teen live and play, but in the cities and suburbs where the band reaches their small yet passionate audience of fellow hedonists.

If you're looking for an album that you can put on and just love every song, this is it. The opening song "Ivanka" is probably one of the catchiest pop songs you'll hear this year, and the rest of the songs on the album are the same way. (Incidentally, when you see "Ivanka" played live it will literally blow you away). It's interesting about Imperial Teen. Each of their three records so far have contained at least one song that, alone, would be worth the price of the record. On "Seasick" it was "You're One," and on "What is Not to Love" it was the killer "Yoo-Hoo." Yet if you buy an Imperial Teen album for that "one song" you can't get out of your head, you end up realizing that all of the other songs on their albums are almost better than that one song. It's the same with "On." You'll buy it (and love it) for "Ivanka," but after a few listens, you'll realize you can't get the other songs out of your head either. For instance, check out the infectious melodies of "Sugar," "Million Dollar Man," and "Baby." Then there's the dreamy sounds of "Captain," "Undone," and "My Spy." Well, there's nothing left to say except this is the best pop album of the year.