The Imperial Sound

The Imperial Sound is a swinging pop band with roots in 1970’s AM radio, Chicago soul, and first-rate song craft. Kenn Goodman (keyboards) and Rick Mosher (guitars and vocals) have been partners in a variety of musical ventures, from the Chicago-based Pravda Records store and label to the legendary trash-rock trio The New Duncan Imperials, for many years. Their latest incarnation, as the founders of The Imperial Sound (sometimes shortened to ImpSo by its fans), puts them at the center of a group of seasoned musicians with years of experience and a drive for self-reinvention.

The band’s debut full-length album was recorded with Mike Hagler at Kingsize Sound Labs (Wilco’s Summerteeth and Mermaid Avenue discs, Neko Case, Mekons, Waco Brothers) and mixed by John “Strawberry” Fields (everyone from Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato to the Dollyrots). The twelve songs on the Imperial Sound’s debut forge an immediately identifiable sound and style: songs bristling with pop hooks, taut arrangements driven by an all-star horn section, and heavenly harmonies courtesy of a “who’s who” in Chicago pop. Guests on the album include Peter Himmelman, Poi Dog Pondering’s Dag Juhlin, singing legends Kelly Hogan and Nora O’Connor, and Kathy Ruestow.

The Imperial Sound is a band with years of shared experience, yet they sound anything but tired – the songs are fresh and the vibe is driving and melodic. This may be a band with a past, but it’s also a band with a future.