Imperial Teen

Three years after Imperial Teen riddled What Is Not to Love via the title of its 1999 disc, the answer — not much — comes courtesy of On. The San Francisco quartet, featuring Roddy Bottum and Will Schwartz alongside Lynn Perko and Jone Stebbins — because everybody knows the best pop bands allow both genders to participate — returns with another outstanding batch of the hooky-delicious. But for all its pogo-powered melodies, On comes packaged with a childproof layer of trashy, clever subversion that will fly over many a young head. This is Teen pop for adult teen-pop fans who should know better, providing all the giddy charge with none of the guilt.