Rolling Stone: 15 Best Things We Saw at Merge 25

316px-Rolling_Stone_logo.svgImperial Teen’s Pleasant N0t-Quite Surprise
It comes as no shock to anyone in the Imperial Teen fan diaspora that the inimitable indie-pop band – which attained a slight brush with alt-fame in the mid-late 1990s – regularly laps the rest of the field, in terms of sheer joyful cool, no matter which bill they grace. But still, there was that moment at the Cat’s Cradle on Friday when the crowd’s reaction intensified as if they were gradually realizing how lucky they were to be in the room, and then the band intensified in response. With witty, intimate, wry, acerbic, self-aware, ferocious songs like “Yoo Hoo,” “You’re One,” “Million Dollar Man,” “Don’t Know How You Do It,” Imperial Teen could’ve been the leaders of a new movement, “Power Twee,” if there hadn’t been so many silly Nineties subgenres already. Regardless, there was a lot of Imperial love in the room, as guitarist/keyboardist Roddy Bottum cracked, “We’re Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice!” And drummer/bassist Lynn Perko mused, “It’s quiet … you’re, what’s the word? Mesmerized.” Exactly.

Read more at Rolling Stone.

Merge 25 Festival: Full Line-Up Announced!

safe_image.phpMerge Records invites you to North Carolina to help us celebrate our 25th anniversary at Merge 25, a 4-day music festival that now includes Teenage Fanclub, Mount Moriah, William Tyler, Reigning Sound, David Kilgour & the Heavy 8s, Imperial Teen, Telekinesis, Eleanor Friedberger, Hiss Golden Messenger, Amor de Días, Saint Rich, The Music Tapes, Vertical Scratchers, Hospitality,and Mikal Cronin!

This set of performers rounds out the already-announced line-up of Wye Oak, The Clientele, Destroyer, Caribou, Lambchop (performing Nixon), Neutral Milk Hotel, The Rock*A*Teens, Ex Hex, Bob Mould, The Mountain Goats, Superchunk, and The Love Language.

We have plenty more surprises up our sleeves, so stay tuned as we celebrate Merge 25!

 

Brand new Imperial Teen video for “No Matter What You Say”

Here’s the big reveal! The brand new Imperial Teen video for “No Matter What You Say”

Directed by Guy Franklin & John Gavin
Cinematographer: Edward Goldner
Costume Design: Chloe Greaves
Make Up: Jonathon Thorpe
Hair: Ceres Mason
First A.D: Josh Harris
Colourist: Christine J. Dobson at Pocket Post
Post-Production: The Pixel Kitchen

Starring Emily Browning.

Special thank you to West Space Gallery.

From the album Feel the Sound, out now on Merge Records.