Having spent 14 years pounding the keyboards for Faith No More's big grunge-dirge sound, Roddy Bottum is finally letting his inner popster sing. The feeling of release is contagious as he spews hooks, harmonies and choruses on the exhilarating debut from his new band, Imperial Teen. But this San Francisco quartet doesn't offer just sugary, squeaky-clean fun: Seaside begins with a languid T. Rex groove that shows how pop can be as dirty (as in both gritty and sexy) as adolescent lust. Marc Bolan, Nirvana and the Pixies are the biggest influences here. And with former Sister Double Happiness drummer Lynn Perko on board, Imperial Teen, like the Breeders, are another offshoot of two other alt-rock bands.

Seasick gets some of its sense of dissonance and difference from queertinged bons mots, such as "Butch is pink, and butch is blue/You like strawberries, and I like you." But little is clear in Bottum's sly observations and wry wordplay – except the fuzz-box-and-snare punch that drives the bursting melodies. (RS 734)

EVELYN MCDONNELL