Imperial Teen: What Is Not to Love : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Imperial Teen work an old-fashioned California New Wave sound: They got the beat, and they'd gladly stop the world and melt with you. Their 1996 debut, Seasick, was an outlandish mix of indie guitars, boy-girl vocals and sexy lyrics about fetishes from strawberries to Liberace. What Is Not to Love doesn't peak as high -- there's no hook here as classic as "You're One" or "Butch." But Imperial Teen still have this turf all to themselves, and they blast through the bubblegum riffs of "Birthday Girl," "Year of the Tan" and "Lipstick." If you have a pop sweet tooth anywhere in your mouth, the ridiculous erotic-compulsive mantra "Yoo Hoo," with pansexual voices drooling all over two very contented chords, will make your weekend. As on the rest of What Is Not to Love, Imperial Teen sound like grown-up-and-proud Blondie fans determined to turn Debbie Harry's promises into their own wet pop dreams. (RS 807)

ROB SHEFFIELD