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Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers

6th Oct 2023 — Leave a comment

So this is what it means to be all grown up…

Teen Jesus and Jean Teasers taken by Michelle Pitiris

Doodles in your daily planer, a pen leak in your zoom meeting, ruler drumsticks at grey desktops. When did life get so dull? You swear you used to be fun.

Australian band Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers know all about this rude awakening called adulthood, the daunting realisation that you’re on you’re own and all your friends live far away.There’s food in the fridge going out of date and you’ve got bills to pay, but who’s to say you’re no fun anymore?

I Used To Be fun by Teen Jesus and The Jean Teasers 2023

Made up of Anna Ryan (guitar and vocals), Scarlett McKahey (guitar), Jaida Stephenson (bass) and Neve van Boxsel (drums) the band are setting the tone for new wave indie pop. Formed during a sleepover when they were all in their mid teens back in 2015 in which the teen friends were watching Richard Linklater’s School of Rock. Their song I Used To Be Fun is an allegory of growing up.

From their latest album I LOVE YOU, I Used To Be Fun utilises jagged vocals and shredded guitar riffs the band dissect the notion of ageing, stripping back the once comforting embrace of childhood for the island of independence only to realise , the choices and decisions we make now impact our own lives and shape our future. Embracing adulthood means embracing the uncertainties and complexities that come with it, as we learn to navigate the intricacies of relationships, career paths, and personal growth. It is a time of transformation, self-reflection, and personal growth, where we come to understand that being an adult is not merely about age, but about taking ownership of our lives, embracing our passions, and charting our own course in this vast and ever-evolving world.

Up for almost anything now

Everything’s too much

Got one foot out the door I guess this is growing up

No excuses or reasons for why I couldn’t come

Should I leave the lights on?“

With an electrifying display of musical prowess and unparalleled harmonies, this talented band captivates audiences with their unique blend of self-deprecating humor and heartfelt songwriting. Their evolved sound has expanded the boundaries of their music, showcasing a newfound confidence that resonates throughout their diverse repertoire.

Their duet with The Grogans on track ‘Salt’ a sound makes strength out of sand after a situation left a soul stranded, scrabbling for something to keep them in place, so beautiful and raw, Salt has depths flooded with both direction and desperation a powerful allegory of building yourself up again, a testament to resilience whilst the title track I ❤ You aches over fixation and unrequited love and the subsequent regret navigated in Never Saw It Coming. Band dynamics, personal relationships and camaraderie all feature strongly, demonstrating that through union, good humour and self awareness can overcome adversity’, that a voice that is heard becomes the most powerful weapon against the disbelievers, sometimes to heal our wounds is to show them.

Salt by Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers. 2023

This follows on from the vulnerable elements effortlessly explored their rambunctiously passionate and poignant debut EP Pretty Good For A Girl Band. It lays the foundations for who they are as a band and what they stand for, challenging any preconceived perceptions this band creates their own prophecy.

Escaping the boundaries of gender identity, they are simply the defining sound of the new era of the music industry, a witty two fingers to those that have denied them the voice to their own musical prowess, their auditory abilities simply because who they are does not fit with predetermined ideals.Despite these prejudicial conceptions the EP is not filled with bitter bangers instead using the opportunity to hold up a mirror to the naysayers, trailblazing the way for a constructive conversation that challenges these archaic beliefs that is holding the industry back.

 Scarlett McKahey (guitar) ,Anna Ryan (guitar and vocals), Jaida Stephenson (bass) and Neve van Boxsel (drums) make up Teen Jesus and Jean Teasers. Credit to Ruby Boland.
Miss Your Birthday by Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers 2022

One of my favourite tracks on this EP the infectious ‘Miss Your Birthday’. This anthem is not just about catchy beats and addictive melodies, it’s a powerful reminder of finding strength when you feel powerless. With their unbreakable bond, undeniable passion, and raw talent, this band is about to blow your mind! Despite the energetic elevation of the track it covers deep distress felt by those facing independence and isolation for the first time, evocative of the lockdowns of 2020 as well as the daunting planet of adulthood.

‘I need a break from living near the freeway

All the high beams keep me up too late

Don’t take this the wrong way it’s not to do with you but I’m running out of clothes and I need a clean bathroom

Need a break from living out a suitcase‘

Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers captured by Michelle Pitiris

Guitarist Scarlett McKahey explained that it was a haomge to homesickness, the fine edge between ‘wanting to be back at your Mum’s cosy house without abandoning your new ‘grown up’ life. “. Sometimes to go home does not mean to give in, it allows you to get back to your roots so you can grow again.

Navigating adulthood often feels like being trapped in an intricate escape room, where the clues are written in a language you struggle to decipher. Despite having a place to call your own, you find yourself living out of a suitcase in your childhood bedroom, longing for the comfort of your mother’s cooking. Your housemates, who often seem to be in a perpetual state of chaos, add to the overwhelming journey of adulthood. Although you may have convinced yourself that you’re ready to be a grown-up, deep down, you realize that you’re still a child trapped in a 20’s something’s body, trying to make sense of it all. It can be quite overwhelming at times, so sometimes you have to miss someone’s birthday, if only you could miss your own.

Since 2015 the band has built up quite a repertoire full of soul wrenching ballads, energetic anthems and choral inspired pop classics. Supporting Foo Fighters in Melbourne in December they are on to BIG things and should be on your playlist, especially if you’re not quite ready to grow up yet and you’re definitely still fun…

Afterdrive Release Indie banger “Bad Vibes”

20th Sep 2023 — Leave a comment

Ipswich based indie band Afterdrive have spoiled us with their latest single, ‘Bad Vibes’, contrary to the title, it is sure to have you heading straight to that dance floor on your next night out.

Littered with lyrical alarm bells this song is an auditory warning against siren strangers, those that we may look to when we find no other eyes whilst always knowing they could easily leave us behind, we all want the dancing girl until the lights come on and she isn’t smiling anymore.

Afterdrive
Bad Vibes by Afterdrive

These individuals have a bewitching power, they captivate us with their false promises, wrapped up our wildest dreams they are the people we want to be with despite our intuition telling us to run. Adrenaline and fun, a promise of all that we want, so despite the bad vibes we choose to party all night, driving with them by our side 

Made up of Ben Watts on vocals, Luke Ellis on guitar, Ed Ruff on bass and Joe Watts on drums Afterdrive are a Pop/indie band  defined by their distinctive sound that is begingin to turn heads in the indie scene especially as they have already released three singles; a nostalgic indie track called 99 (which we previously reviewed)and their poignant debut release stick Around, it is no surprise they have a worldwide audience, including fans in Mexico City ,Santiago and London setting them up for international success.

Afterdrive

Lights low, eyes wide, drunken nights and a stranger with a nice smile. The music is loud and the drinks are strong, between the dancing, you get to talking only to realise this person is a walking bad vibe, only making you fall further into their eyes. Through the haze of synth like harmonies, gazey guitar riffs and a proleptic drum beats this song explores the sticky stories smeared on the dancefloor, brought to light by the harsh 6am sun.

“And girl you give me Bad Vibes, Bad Vibes

This ain’t the right time

Long nails, jeans black, sippin’ white wine

She said, she said she want it all night

And I bet you want it all night”

Lyrics to ‘bad vibes’ by Afterdrive

Afterdrive

Bad Vibes offer an eye into the emotional inventory of the narrator, a hand emerges from the wreckage of another failed relationship to guide you through the mist once more. The instrumentals offer a useful framework for interpreting the rollicking pop-rock fervour to come especially with the layered vocals, evocative of words running wild, a tennis match argument that leaves both rackets broken, but both players ready and wanting more, the allure of chaos.

Make some dancefloor stories of your own at their next gig on the 30th of September in iconic, Ipswich venue the Baths, tickets on sale here.

Lucy Dacus: Night Shift

29th Aug 2023 — 1 Comment

It’s taken us 5 years but it’s worth it…

Lucy Dacus taken by Ebru Yildiz 2021

A collage of selves lay scattered, nestled in our memories, our sadness spread in ugly black smudges on the side of silk sheets, a good day in the form of a forgotten earring on an old friend’s nightstand, a favourite teddy still hoping in wait under our childhood bed. We are everywhere but within ourselves.

Lucy Dacus track Night shift explores the cognitive dissonance of a breakup, the longing for what can never be again and the gratitude of what can never be again. A broken heart is a second chance, another go, an opportunity for growth whilst simultaneously being a gaping wound, a gaunt expression with haunted hands and deceitful eyes, convincing you that everywhere you look your lover resides.

Lucy Dacus Night Shift Music video, released March 8 2023

This needs to look at them once more but knowing if you saw them again you would look away.  You go to their favourite bar, shop at their favourite store, wearing their favourite outfit and the perfume they once associated with you. Every day you devote your life to a shadow. Last month felt like the future and now where are you, wallowing in the space between where their arms once were and where you are now. but you’re trying to fill it, so you go to work, you wash your face, you go for a run, you keep running, you wash the floor, you go to work, you cry in the storage cupboard, you cry in the woods, standing in your running trainers, head aflame, lungs burning. Why couldn’t I be enough, if love is all we are then why did you leave?

The now iconic line “you’ve got a nine to five, so I’ll take the night shift’ powerfully epitomises the deliberate decision one makes when wanting to avoid a person, peeling ourselves away from who they used to be by forcing ourselves to explore different routes.

Night Shift by Lucy Dacus

Dacus so beautifully navigates the turmoil and resentment dictated by a premature departure of a lover. Her lyrics are hauntingly honest, full of empowering rage, propelled by a steady drumbeat, like a heart in a state of recovery, complimented by the building up riff of the guitar, like a heart in flight or fight mode, this juxtaposition of peace and war creating a heart wrenching symphony that sadly so many can relate too.

Why do we give each other flowers doomed to die? The wilted rose, once so vibrant and routed, sighing, tired in its glass pedestal, once a token of affection, now drooping. Love is a garden, not a diagonally cut stem, it is affected by the weather so you must shelter it, tend to it, keep it safe, respond to its needs, watch it thrive.

Then finally there is a fall of bitter peace, the relief that you can fill your life with stuff that isn’t them, not to distract yourself but because you want to, you start filling your life with light, eradicating all the shadows.

Poignant and insightful the narrator finds a way to forgive, to leave the space and keep the time and take it all in stride. The track, 5 years old, has a timeless quality that allows you to howl in a shared sense of healing agony, a sound of hope that happiness will prosper.