2010 sophomore album from the Washington, DC-based Alt-Rockers. Phosphenes is a collection of nine songs clocking in at 35 minutes of music. The album switches gears often, running between experimental Post-Rock, sampled-based tinkering, and Punk. The album follows 2008′s critically acclaimed EP, Methods. As with Methods, Phosphenes was produced by Devin Ocampo (Faraquet, Medications).
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Another Innovative Outfit from the DC Scene,
I saw Imperial China open for the Medications at the Black Cat, and it was just a great show. The bands were great, I mean — of course, the audience consisted of college-aged white kids (potential hipsters) who just stood and nodded along to whatever’s playing. Regardless, I moved to the front and rocked out with fervor.
Anyway, these guys play with such energy and seem to have a lot of fun on stage and in the studio, and it comes out through the music. The bass lines are what sold me, with a lot of groove that did more than just mirror the melody — reminded me a bit of Minutemen and Mike Watt in the clean and precise playing style. And completing the rhythm section were the drums: so much drums, in fact, that the guitarist pulled double duty with a secondary kit at times. Why in the world the audience did not feel the need to dance around with all that going on blew my mind a little.
The closest sound I could think to use as a comparison for Imperial China is Battles, with a lot of quirky synthesizer weaving in and out of the other analog instrumentation to create a unique blend of post-punk/hardcore/indie/techno/whatever. Imperial China doesn’t go off on the long, meandering, tangents that Battles does, though, and I thank them for that. It is all in all a very tight, very groovy outfit. Other influences you can hear coming in and out are Faraquet, with some triplet melodies, and Fugazi, in the textural guitar experimentation.
I hope Imperial china sticks around and continues to release a lot more, continuing the long-standing tradition of the DC scene producing some of the best punk-inspired rock around.
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