All Over You

All Over You

The members of Imperial Teen may have scattered around the world, but when they reunite as a unit their instincts for wry, witty pop remain unparalleled. Whether they’re laying down blasé lust on the sinewy opener “Overdrive” or stylishly raging against modern ennui on the low-end-heavy “All Over You,” Imperial Teen’s talent at taking hooks and turning them on their head has only grown over the last three decades. Roddy Bottum, Will Schwartz, Jone Stebbins, and Lynn Truell trade harmonies and punchlines across All Over You, their vocals melding and separating over music that mines pop gold from analog-keyboard-driven New Wave, time-worn Wall of Sound classics, dollar-CD-bin treasures, and other far-flung sources. “Get You Home” finds the sugar-coated midpoint between Pavement, “Be My Baby,” and John Hughes soundtrack anthems. “Have a Shout” combines scruffy riffing with a smooth chorus, another unexpected moment of pop alchemy on a record stuffed with them.