Wednesday, March 14   9:00 p.m.
Antone's   (213 W 5th St)

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Imperial Teen was formed in San Francisco in 1995 by Roddy Bottum, Lynn Perko, Jone Stebbins and Will Schwartz. A pop aesthetic of crunchy guitar riffs and classic boy/girl harmonies quickly developed, finding all four members switching instruments and taking their turns behind the mike. The band had barely been playing together for six months when they landed their first record deal (Slash/London) and found themselves in the studio. The result was the amazingly fresh and joyous Seasick, which tickled the fancy of many a critic and music fan alike, with its infectious pop grooves standing out in a musical climate dripping with grunge. After several unforeseen roadblocks (label inertia, recording delays) Imperial Teen went on to release What Is Not To Love in 1999, and managed to garner even more praise and adoration worldwide. They even scored an MTV-style breakthrough with their single Yoo-Hoo which landed on the Jawbreaker soundtrack, with an accompanying video featuring Rose McGowan.

After parting ways with London a few years back, Imperial Teen miraculously found their way over to Merge! Lucky, lucky for us!

Their newest, On, [out April 9, 2002] is quite simply, hands down, one of the best pop records you are likely to hear anywhere this year. We guarantee it. Produced by Steve McDonald (Redd Kross) and Anna Waronker (That Dog) with assistance from the band this has got to be the most stunning and fully realized album of the Teens� career. Hooks that bite, melodies that soar and lyrics that reveal themselves to be much more than pure pop confection. Boy/girl harmonies mask lyrics with a bite, and guitars and keyboards are just as likely to drone as chime, as Imperial Teen expands upon their already rich musical palette. This record just gets more and more amazing with every listen, revealing itself layer by layer. So give it a listen yourself, and then tell us whether or not we�re crazy.

See, I didn�t think so!!