ALBUM REVIEW: Teens, Teens
Prepare yourself for a deliciously unsettling onslaught: the self-titled debut album from Tasmanian band Teens (who, by the way, are not teens).
Combining hectic instrumentation with echoey psychedelic-style vocals, the sound is reminiscent of the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets at times, albeit more predictable.
Opening track Burning Bridges makes for a lively and enticing intro that had us grooving from the very outset. Please Stop Holding On So Tight continues the pace while ramping up the intensity, while Fever Dream also holds the pace, but in a more focused style.
Vacant Lot is more of the same, then we come to the intriguing I’m An Art Prize. This track starts with some great effects, the vocals drop to a deeper tone, and the entire song has a heavier, more ominous sound and mood. There’s also a fantastic distorted solo.
With GHB, the intensity dropped and so did our interest somewhat, but it’s more than made up for as How Old Are You? starts to get really trippy in a fabulously sinister way.
The album could be following the course of an acid trip, and by the time we hit Eraser we are really having a bad trip – in the best of ways.
Ginny is a bit out of the box and you’ll either love it or hate it; on the final track Blocks it seems like everything is finally calming down, only to end on another sinister note.
Though it’s billed as post-punk, our experience was of a psychedelic album that descends from fun upbeat madness down to sinister despairing hysteria in a deliberate and captivating way.
In sum:
ALBUM: Teens
ARTIST: Teens
RELEASE DATE: July 5, 2024
GENRE: Post-punk
RECOMMENDED FOR: Stoners, lovers of psychedelic rock