To me, most of today’s indie music feels like fluff: pop tarts and faux-alternative “stars” with songs that have no context and rarely any lyrical challenges. It seems like there’s a dearth of strong females who write catchy, strong rock music that deeply questions popular culture, femininity, misogyny, and women’s place in the world. But Brooklyn-based psychedelic R&B band Teen will restore your faith. Their second LP, The Way and Color, isn’t just a beautiful record—full of intellectual instrumentation and smart, hooky songs that sound like a throwback to late-’90s R&B—but a lyrically powerful one. Frontwoman Teeny Lieberson talks about everything from love to misogyny to dying rock-goddesses to motherhood. Although on the surface, this album may sound like little more than a feel-good groove, there’s something bigger going on here. Right now, we need Teen.
-Mish Way
Photo by Shawn Brackbill
The Way and Color will be released April 22 on Carpark Records
This review originally appeared in the April/May issue of BUST Magazine. Subscribe now.
