TEEN – The Way and Color
Brooklyn art pop darlings, TEEN, have dropped their much awaited sophomore LP, The Way and Color. Recorded in upstate New York over a ten day recording binge, the ten track homage to harmonic synth delight is almost impossible to categorise. Likening them to simply one genre or artist is problematic based on their erratic tempo and aural versatility throughout the album’s entirety.
In many ways it’s a patchwork piece combining their typical spaced out ethereal waves with a confusing mix of electronic tension and bizarre R&B influence. The LP opens with an endearing 90s-esque electronic anthem in “Rose 4 U” which ensnares you with its catchy fast paced rhythm, but slowly loses hold as the length of the track extends and exhausts itself. This seems to be a common theme throughout, as many tracks begin boldly, but are so saturated with ideas that single tracks sometimes seem like several sound bites mashed together chaotically. The sinister midsection of “Breathe Low & Deep” promotes a strange anxiety within the listener, resonant also in “Sticky” which kind of felt like being stuck on an acid trip at a carnival.
The shifting vocals of Teeny Lieberson (the band’s namesake and one of the three Lieberson sisters who make up three quarters of TEEN the band) is versatile, but wears thin in some tracks. Bleeding hearts reign supreme on this record with “More Than I Ask For” telling tales of loveless lovemaking and “Not For Long” tearing through your soul with its cynical focus on greedy, lust-fueled relations. Essentially, the album is a dreamscape, psych soaked ode to the angst that comes with youthful fuckery. A brave exploration into new territory for TEEN which doesn’t exactly “not work” but suffers from an existential identity crisis, nonetheless. Worth a listen for those seeking aural experimentation and a weirdly wonderful new sound.
THE BREAKDOWN:
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Latest LP: The Way and Color, released 22 April, 2014.
Sounds like: Tame Impala and Kate Bush‘s love child
Say What? Hailing from opera stock (composer daddy and mezzo soprano stepmum), the three Lieberson sisters used to perform tunes from popular musicals (Oklahoma; a favourite) for dinner party guests and family members at home in Nova Scotia.
Love, hugs and other drugs, LB
ART FELICIS 