A glacier of discovery

With the confidence of five eccentric and celebrated studio albums under their belt, Imperial Teen’s Now We Are Timeless sings with produced perfection. The San Francisco band has been active for over 23 years, neither losing their spunky edge nor plateauing in creativity.

Now We Are Timeless feels like a declaration of tenure. Imperial Teen is a relic of existence and a proud smirk at immortality. Imperial Teen’s music truly is timeless. The band weaves together their voices in intricate harmonies that will leave your ears ringing for hours. From the ’80s experimental rock band Faith No More, Roddy Bottum tunes into his retro chords as he plays lead guitar and vocals in Imperial Teen. Lynn Truell cracks the heart of each track open with varying tempos of a marching drumline or hard rock sporadic drumming. Will Schwarts and Jone Stebbins carry the coattails with vocals and guitar and bass, respectively.

Intro track “I Think That’s Everything” feels all-encompassing like an album in itself. Rock melodies burn like tarnishing metal in “We Do What We Do Best,” but the following track salvages the unfinished for redirection. “Don’t Wanna Let You Go” peels apart with synth tricks and psychedelic pop. The kicker is that this album feels inherently classic indie rock, but tinges of color and playful vocals send Now We Are Timeless into infinite listening. 

Imperial Teen varies their sound texture throughout the album, especially when listening to the tracklist in order. Track five “How We Say Goodbye” and track six “Parade” weave a cohesive pattern of indie rock, but the discrepancy in sound on what makes this album sound refreshingly new.

Counting down the album with four minutes and 17 seconds, closing track “Timeless” ties together the album like a lingering kiss goodbye. “Timeless” is ethereal in a way that’s hard to grasp. The feeling isn’t tangible, as music never is. Imperial Teen masters balance through an effortless appearance with comprehensive labor and creative collaborations underneath. Now We Are Timeless is a glacier of discovery with only 10 tracks totaling 35 minutes – but have another listen, and another because there’s more left to find hidden and tucked away in this album.