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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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The Hair, The TV, The Baby & The Band
by Imperial Teen
After a five-year hiatus, the San Francisco band returns with their fourth album.
| LABEL: |
Merge |
| RELEASE DATE: |
21 August 2007 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Rock, Indie |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
93
Lost At Sea
Imperial Teen have again made one of the best records of the year.
90
Paste Magazine
There is much to be excited about here and virtually nothing to poo-poo.
89
Austin Chronicle
Shinsian popsters rejoice. Here's another dreamsicle caked with sugar sugar.
83
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Even when Imperial Teen reduces its sound to almost nothing, as on the hauntingly spare 'What You Do,' every instrument and voice rings out, appealingly unsullied.
80
Blender
When the Teens youthfully chime in behind sheepish disclosures, it's like they’re arguing that a baby seat in the tour van doesn’t have to slow down the ride. And quite often, they prove it too.
70
All Music Guide
Though the album has its fair share of songs that sound like stylish, smart, but lulling background music on first listen, The Hair the TV the Baby & the Band reveals its catchiness gradually.
70
Rolling Stone
Catchy they remain on their belated fourth album--also bright, dynamic, tender, brainy, unpretentious and civilly pansexual.
70
Filter
The Teen’s male/female vocal harmonies and occasional big rockin’ choruses are designed to make you love them; at first this will make you hate them, then hate to love them, and finally either get over it and start bobbin’ your head, or crush this album with a hammer.
70
Under The Radar
The record is something of a rehash of "On" and a small step down from that album's focused energy and brilliant pop mechanics. [Summer 2007, p.74]
62
Pitchfork
Hair finds Imperial Teen in full-bore navel gazing mode, talking both obliquely and directly about where they are and, more importantly, how they got there.
60
Tiny Mix Tapes
What saves the album from musically becoming a boring, going-through-the-motions exercise is Imperial Teen’s ability to write good hooks.
60
Village Voice
They've become lapidary masters. The trouble is, who's listening and learning?
60
Spin
On this foursome's fourth collection of infectious indie pop, they downplay the sly smirking of the past. [Sep 2007, p.132]
60
Q Magazine
Their fourth album is another collection of winning boy-girl-harmony-laden indie confections. [Jan 2008, p.106]
60
Uncut
It's quite fun picking off the trio's various folk-pop influences, with traces of The Mamas & The Papas, Astrud Gilberto and Natalie Merchant filtering through the mix. [Jan 2008, p.90]
50
PopMatters
Power pop must be one of the most difficult genres to maintain as you get older, because its energy and its subject matter are so tied to youth. And yet, Imperial Teen manages to pull it off a couple of times, with bouncy, shout-along songs that fall just short of their best material.
The average user rating for this album is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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