Previously on OPIUM HUM:
This band's first record, which is linked above, is very special to me. I don't have the same kind of personal connection to their second record, What Is Not to Love, but I did listen to it a ton while I was living in my first apartment, which was also the setting for what turned into a pretty toxic relationship, so it does carry a certain amount of nostalgic significance. It's more focused than Seasick, which kinda plays more like a singles collection than a cohesive record -- but this is a reflection of a band that has learned to play to its own strengths: scruffy, guitar-driven power pop balanced by a few wistful, strung-out ballads, all from a decidedly queer POV. One of the ballads, "Crucible", is one of my favorite songs ever recorded. And the only song that doesn't really fit either camp, "Alone in the Grass", finds them in hypno-motorik territory, and it's one of the best songs on here.
Track listing:
1. Open Season
2. Birthday Girl
3. Yoo Hoo
4. Lipstick
5. Alone in the Grass
6. Crucible
7. The Beginning
8. Year of the Tan
9. Seven
10. Hooray (Live)
11. Beauty
Also listen to:
I discovered Imperial Teen at a point in my life where a long-term relationship had come to a messy end, but I suddenly had the freedom to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, with the entire San Francisco Bay Area as my playground. The first thing I did? Started going to live shows. And I.T. was one of the first concerts I saw. I listen to their first two albums all the time. Great indie pop-rock from a time when the radio was filled with garbage.
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