They are older, wiser and synthier
TEEN’s Love Yes is one of pop’s most rewarding acquired tastes.
What’s the deal? A doggedly committed artistic work-inprogress, Brooklyn-based quartet TEEN turned in its shiniest, synthiest and altogether punchiest album to date in February with Love Yes while sacrificing none of the quirks, complexities and cerebral tendencies that mark it as one of contemporary indie-pop’s most emergently rewarding acquired tastes.
Yes, it still takes a bit of work to get a handle on TEEN’s stylistic hiccups, and bandleader Kristina “Teeny” Lieberson’s propensity for heady feminist social commentary, but it feels less like work and more like fun these days.
TEEN has always had an effervescent touch to offset its more academic side. Love Yes, however, is suffused with an ’80s-derived electro-pop brightness lovingly informed by the likes of Kate Bush, Tubeway Army and the Eurythmics, and such turn-of-the-millennium devotees of the same era as Ladytron, Chairlift and Of Montreal that helps it click far quicker than TEEN’s two previous LPs.
Any record that can simultaneously evoke ABBA and Warpaint is all right by me. It’ll all make sense by the second spin, trust me. Sum up what you do in a few simple sentences “We wake up, eat something cheap. Get in the van. Drive. Pee. Get back in the van. Pee again. Get back in the van again. Get gas. Drive. Arrive at venue, maybe sound check. Eat more cheap food. Play show. Get back in the van. Sleep. Wake up. Repeat.” What’s a song I need to hear right now? “Free Time.” So lighthearted and loping of gait you’ll forget it’s way smarter than you. Dig the multi-tracked Prince vocals. Where can I see them play? At the Silver Dollar with the Magic on Tuesday.