Imperial Leisure

Lifestyle Brand (2015)

SilentMark

Imperial Leisure's third outing is a combination of their previous two. Art of Saying Nothing was a party album, Death to the One Trick Pony was a darker album but still fun, Lifestyle Brand is dark party album. It's not as dark, but it's darker than the first album.

They start the way they needed to really with the song "Victory Cycle." Jumpy guitars and big horns are what Imperial Leisure are about, and this is a wonderful and fun entrance to the album. The band are about having fun and that's pretty much what this is about.

This theme goes on throughout the album. Songs like "Razzle Dazzle," "Animal" and "Nasty Boy" give the feeling of a party in an abandoned and dark house. Dirty, fun and lively. Songs about having fun and getting laid are a staple of the band but with songs like "Nasty Boy" they can also be mistaken for giving their own view on the human condition.

Their song "Three Women One Night," whilst obvious as to what it's about, has my favourite intro on the album. Slow and soft Latin-style horn leading into slow and soft synth, then suddenly rapid guitar, strong drums and an aggressive Denis shouting at you brings goosebumps to me and makes me want to jump around like a madman.

Every Imperial Leisure album has an instrumental song on it and their song "The Big E" is said song on this one. Combining a nice slow ska song with their usual electronics is nice, but the synth tone that goes throughout keeps reminding me of Super Nintendo games which personally makes it better.

For me the only slump in proceedings is "Isle of Slice," but only because it's not my favourite song on an incredible strong album.

The whole album feels like a party. It feels like a place where you can have a good time and where you have to leave your problems at the door. An amazingly good album which is a must for people who like horns, drink and punk music. Get their back catalogue, listen to all three albums on a loop and loose yourself in some good times.