What Is Not to Love

Imperial Teen

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 23, 1999)
• Original Release Date: February 23, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Slash / Umgd
• ASIN: B00000AFDR
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #156,326 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Not since the Pixies has there been a heavy pop band that is as sultry as Imperial Teen. Watch out, though--they move fast. If their first album, Seasick, was a great first date, they've jumped right into the sack on the furious, lusty What Is Not to Love. The album starts strong: "Open Season" is a rousing hello with bouncy keyboards, and "Birthday Girl"--a "beauty in a bridal gown" who "falls in love with everything"--is foreplay that quickly gets out of hand. By the time the fourth track, "Lipstick," rolls around, ex-Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum is demanding to know "Why you gotta be so proud? / I'm the one with lipstick on." by "The Beginning," Will Schwartz is not impressed that "you're fucking movie stars" because, well, he's "fucking congressmen." More developed than Seasick, the songs on Love feature everything from a trio of nuggets that clock in under three minutes to a pair of seven-minute-plus tracks (the feedback-fest "Alone in the Grass" and the--initially--softer "Hooray"). Death to the Pixies, hell--long live Imperial Teen. --Randy Silver

Spin
What Is Not to Love ... sounds like breezy sugar rock until you clue into the dude-what's-your-problem? confrontation in the lyrics.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, catchy songs from a very underrated band, February 9, 2000

By	Jason Brobeck (Coraopolis, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I too bought this album solely from hearing the single Yoo-hoo. I was completely blown away by how great the entire album is! I don't know how this group is going so unnoticed for so long. The songs are all extremely catchy... great music with great lyrics. I instantly went out and bought their other album as well - Seasick. It's hard to really pick a favorite. Seasick is a little more upbeat and playful, while What is not to Love seems to be a bit deeper both lyrically and musically. Both have a permanent spot in my collection and there is never really a time that I'm not in the mood to listen to them.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Depression Album, December 22, 2001

By A Customer

I think it's pretty funny that everyone describes 'What is not to Love' as 'shiny,' 'poppy,' and 'fun.' This is some of the saddest, most meloncholy music I've heard. Beyond the cheerful exterior is some incredible self-loathing, uncertainty, and emotional complexity. Most of the songs in one way or another realate to lonliness and separation, and even at their most defiant ('The Beignning') they would rather not fight. Culminating in the desperate feedback of 'Hooray,' this record makes a mockery of its own depressed state, I think as a form of therapy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lightyears ahead of their first release, April 19, 2000

By	"gapskank76" (San Bruno, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Awesome pop songs from start to finish. Imperial Teen has honed their song writing and become a truly magnificent band. The songs on this record are much better and more consistant than those on their first album "Seasick." This one is a little less slick, and the subject matter is a bit more suggestive, which makes it feel much more honest and real. If you havent heard much of IT's stuff, this is where I would start.