I’m in the center of the crowd at Neumos. The lights are low and a group of haggard musicians are strewn across the stage. At the center of everything, four Americans in their early teens begin to sing their big single. The song is called “Homecoming” and it features he-said, she-said lyrics and vulgar, hilariously understated lines.

On April 19, The Teenagers were in town promoting their new album Reality Check and selling their nostalgic-for-90s-childhood brand.

The band sounds like Michael Jackson and Cyndi Lauper collaborating on a cheesy ‘80s pop-rock movie soundtrack. Glowing synths and mechanical beats mix with warm-sounding Fender guitars.

Their music, however, is rooted more in pop appeal than anything else. Started as a joke by three Parisians in London, The Teenagers gained fame on MySpace by posting songs and pictures that appeal to jaded young people.

On stage, none of the members seems terribly musical. They all play very simple pop hooks and droning harmonies. For the band’s first American tour, they added a drummer and a guitarist to replace their original loop-based instrumentation. Even so, I noticed several serious mistakes made by the new guitarist/synth player. Reality Check is not a musician’s album.

As “Homecoming” came to an end, the Teenager’s singer, Quentin, complained that the young guest singers knew none of the lyrics.

On Saturday, the manic MySpace-fueled scene was somewhat subdued. Most people in the audience were in their mid-to late 20s. Closer to the stage, three tiers of younger people danced sporadically. There was a palpable tension between the younger people in the crowd and the surly, drunk older hipsters in the balcony bar. I felt caught between a generational micro-conflict over pop music.

Standing outside after the show, I sensed a general dissatisfaction with the band from the older folks sticking around for a smoke.

Club Pop residents Gasworx opened the show and played their harsh house sound between the rock sets, at one point stirring up a small frenzy.

The Handsome Furs were the notable openers, playing grungy, distorted dance rock. They represented the big draw for many of the serious music fans at the show. I was unimpressed by the tepid dance groove and flailing post-punk stage posturing. The woman playing the Microkorg was also completely distracting.