Imperial Teen

Imperial Teen

Imperial Teen is an indie pop and indie rock group from San Francisco, United States. It forms in 1995 and consists of Roddy Bottum, Lynn Perko, Jone Stebbins and Will Schwartz. Bottum is known as the keyboard player in Faith No More.

Style and formation

The band develops a sound built around crunchy guitar riffs and boy-girl vocal harmonies, with all four members switching instruments and sharing lead vocals. This rotating approach is part of the group’s early identity from the start.

Recordings and releases

Imperial Teen signs to London / Universal after only about six months of playing together and enters the studio soon after. Its first album, Seasick, draws attention for its pop hooks and stands out in a grunge-dominated period. The group follows it with What Is Not To Love in 1999, which also receives strong critical response. The Hair The TV The Baby & The Band appears in 2007 on Merge Records.

Later activity

The group remains active and is also associated with Big Thrilling Music. Its genre is generally listed as indie pop, indie rock and rock.