2010/2011
The Washington Post rates Phosphenes as one of the Top 5 rock albums by a DC band in 2010. December 23, 2010.
Featured in a Washington City Paper article about the difficulties DC bands face in finding practice space. December 23, 2010.
"Phosphenes is filled with twinkling echoes, echo vocals, funky beats, guitars of loud exploding frenzy and all kinds of other weird tricks and turns... Imperial China stepped into some vacant but much desperate dead air and created an album that is otherworldly." Korrupt Yrself, Top 5 albums of 2010, December 2010.
"I've read some people says this might take more than just one listen to digest. I seriously doubt that. Heard it once and fell in love with the sound on the spot." - The Sirens Sound, September 2010.
Brightest Young Things' coverage and photos of our September 2010 show with Tortoise.
"Imperial China retains mainstream rock's punch while incorporating elements of more experimental styles. The trio undergirds its attack with loops and other synthetic sounds, and borrows from non-Western forms, notably for the gamelan-like percussion of 'Corrupting the Integrity of the Grid'." - Washington Post, August 2010.
"Phosphenes shows that Imperial China are a confident, exciting group prepared to step out into their own, with a bright future ahead of them. They’ve created a constantly exciting, vital record that seems primed to inspire creativity and passion in its listener. This is not meant to be background music to be accepted quietly, it demands and deserves your full attention." - In Your Speakers, May 2010.
"To all the naysayers claiming DC punk is dead: Imperial China isn't listening. Made up of long-time District residents, the trio harness Dischord-style aggression and tack on warped electronic squeals, adding up to a jarringly intense and unpredictable sound. The band isn't afraid to write purely instrumental tracks, but there's no shortage of shouts." - Washington Post Express, May 2010.
"[Imperial China] won over the crowd pretty easily tonight with their hard-charging post punk guitar and electronica attack. Lots of rhythm, decent vocals and great songs that really do cause some bounce in the crowd. They may not have as singular a sound as Gang of Four, Joy Division, or PiL, but they can accompany these types of bands and hold their own." - DC Rock Live, May 2010.
A Washington City Paper article about the changing infrastructure of independent music and D.I.Y. touring, May 2010.
"Within the first 30 seconds of Imperial China's debut LP, Phosphenes, it's clear what sounds are going to dominate the record: dance-ready samples, squealing dissonant guitars and percussion. Their use of these elements make good on the promise of their first release, the Methods EP: that the trio can effectively combine the elements that defined Dischord's most prominent bands without sounding like they're stuck in a time warp." - DCist, March 2010.
"[Imperial China] immediately hit me with a strong Gang of Four sound, only with a guitar that was tougher in the mix. They work this style well, but vary it with rhythmic industrial sounds, post-punk slow-core, world music and much more. It is always a strong, aggressive sound and they succeed in creating different atmospheres with tempo shifts and adept songwriting." - DC Rock Live, March 2010.
"These days, the indie field is oversaturated with derivative groups trying to resuscitate a bygone era or mirror a sonic fad note for note. Rather than merely exhume the past or copy the present, Imperial China engages alternative music’s storied history as a whole on Phosphenes... The group’s determination to push certain aesthetic boundaries has resulted in a record that’s endearing and complex, aggressive yet skillfully composed." - Washington City Paper, February 2010.
"These three dudes capture the feel and the spirit of the 'DC sound'... but rarely rehash the ideas of their predecessors... Phosphenes is one of the best records we’ve heard this year." - Buddyhead, February 2010. |
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2010
"Phosphenes is one of those rare albums that melds instruments and styles into a concoction that defies easy categorization and still succeeds at what it attempts. From the driving, headlong rush of 'Mortal Wombat' to the contemplative soundscape of 'Go Where Airplanes Go,' Imperial China continually hits the mark on this debut album... It’s a rare treat to come across an album so full of surprises that flow organically from one to the next." - Delusions of Adequacy, February 2010.
"Imperial China's music has a murky consistency reflective of Nine Inch Nails' dark, craggy guitar distortions and industrial-soaked atmospherics. The trio combines their musical influences with bouts of improvisation and flights of impulsive shredding. They create a power-rock alloy fused with avant elements made by layering glaring sound effects over a punk rock rumble. The album's cinematic scope produces massive blusters which blows listeners away while keeping their attention fixated on the jaunting motions of the sonic flares."- Ultimate Guitar (8 out of 10), February 2010.
"[Imperial China] are making intense music, simply, with just three members. Nothing sounds forced... The drums are smart, block-rockin’, dancey without being disco. The electronics are well-chosen, and very ear-pleasing." - Independent Clauses, January 2010.
"Phosphenes is a testament to Imperial China’s distinct sound, meticulously alloying innumerable flavors of rock and pop into something both fresh and familiar... The album is a confident, well-developed debut of a unique and vibrant voice in a somewhat stagnant scene. A sign of a fertile future for both artist and label, and if we’re lucky, one of the first major volleys in a bonafide new movement." - Aural States, January 2010.
"DC's Imperial China are rocking my mind with their LP Phosphenes. This isn’t an album to kick back to, drive to, or hum along to. This is an album to open up and create to. It makes me want to wildly draw or paint something as raw and beautiful as what I’m listening to—post-rock intesity mixed with experimental electronics washed away in psych. Sometimes Phosphenes expands and wraps itself around your ears with lush yet hard rock, and sometimes it travels down to a stark small basement and just vibrates. All of it kills." - Pasta Primavera, January 2010.
"[DC]-based trio Imperial China combine the abstruse sounds of many a Dead City band past (Girls Against Boys, Frodus, and Q and Not U spring to mind) for a style of confrontational art rock that’s definitively DC. But expect the band to transcend mere comparisons to like-minded acts with the release of their new album, Phosphenes. Imperial China are a stage presence to be reckoned with and, in support of their latest release, they’re planning on 'playing out more than ever' in 2010." - On Tap Magazine, "Bands to Watch in 2010," January 2010.
"Though wordless, ['Corrupting the Integrity of the Grid'] manages to speak volumes with a blistering pace and experimental tone that split the difference between Battles and Fugazi." - Washington City Paper, "One Track Mind," January 2010.
"Imperial China's Methods: took the angular DC sound, sprinkled it with electronics, crammed it all in a blender, pressed puree, and reconstructed the results into a mathy little EP. From the sound of 'Go Where Airplanes Go,' from the trio's debut album, Phosphenes, the group continues to experiment with a brand of post-punk as beloved as it is visceral. Packed with dubbed electronics and syncopated drumming, Phosphenes, could conceivably put DC punk back in the national spotlight." - True Slant, "Something to Look Forward To: 2010 Releases," January 2010.
"Imperial China came in and did so well, I was really, really proud. They’ve probably played the most shows out of everyone involved and it showed: incredibly tight from the drumming... to the bass so fierce it reminds you of why you loved Rage Against the Machine in the first place, to guitars and synths, making a sound so spare and yet so rhythmic it comes off as more melodic than most things that are meant to be melodic. Brightest Young Things - review of Imperial China's set for the Sockets Records Showcase at the Black Cat, Washington DC, January 2010.
"This isn’t an album that is interested in just giving out rewards — you have to earn them through a little work of your own. I can appreciate that, and hopefully some other people will too, because this is one of the better albums by local bands to come out in the past few years." District Lies - January 2010.
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2008/2009
Buddyhead - "13 Questions" interview, October 2009.
"Imperial China, a trio from DC, carry on the city's long and proud legacy of slashing, experimental post-punk that's equally brainy and ballsy. They create fierce grooves, turn on a dime, throw some weird electronic flourishes in for good measure, and shimmy about on stage like they took dancing lessons from Guy Picciotto." - Philadelphia Weekly, January 7, 2009.
"Imperial China are not your average rock band. They are the Rachmaninoff of the experimental rock world. Nothing seems too difficult for them to play and the band’s level of spontaneity is humungous. The band has a method of playing and interacting with each other on a recording that is completely original and imaginative." - Absolute Punk, August 2008.
"[Imperial China and Caverns] are from the DC area. But I caught them at the Aural States Fest this past weekend and they seem like they're about to be brought into the Baltimore fold very soon. These bands are comers. Both bands sort of remind me of everything I like about Battles, with a hint of that DC earnest intensity (yeah, yeah, I know) and with a touch of that SST attitude (in the case of Imperial China) and a piano (in the case of Caverns) thrown in for good measure. Mobtown Shank - Best records of 2008.
"Imperial China played with an intense, forceful, push-pull energy from the first note to the last. I was impressed by the change in energy within the space – while they didn’t cause a cultural revolution, it was obvious that these guys were going to make the typically stoic DC audience rock the fuck out – and they did." - Brightest Young Things - Review of our Black Cat show, Washington DC, September 2008.
The DCist - "3 Stars" interview, August 2008.
Delusions of Adequacy - Interview, August 2008.
Instrumental Analysis - Interview with Bound Stems and Imperial China, July 2008.
"'There Is No Translation' [is] a brutal slab of postpunk malaise. Crushing guitars and sirenlike keyboards wail over [a] jagged backbeat -
Washington City Paper, "One Track Mind," July 2008.
"Wiry rhythms and slashing squibs of squall quickly identify Washington, D.C.'s Imperial China as heir to the area's rich post-punk past." - Alternative Press, August 2008.
"Opening track 'There is No Translation' from D.C. based Imperial China is a blistering slab of post-punk that will leave you guessing. From the time changes to the intermittent bursts of vocals, the song is a winner. The rest of this four track EP is no different. 'Radhus' has an electronic undercurrent with some great percussion, while 'Sirens' is a fragmented extended jam mashed up against the hazy and peculiar 'Space Anthem.' All in all, a fine debut from this trio. Delusions of Adequacy - review of Methods:, June 2008.
Aural States - review of Methods:, July 2008. |
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