"If I sounded too moody / If I found the true beauty / Without sounding too bougie / Where do I go for the romance?"
The untethered heaviness, ebullient daring do's of "For The Romance" (the single) by Toronto alternative mainstay JEEN, and from her latest EP "For the Romance", with it's sense of abandon and dance party vibes pushing against pervasive heaviness (of fucking life), feels like an injection hope. For me, in the truest sense, in terms of art in one hand and the existential dread that makes us curl up on the couch in the other hand, this track feels like the mid 2000's when there was an influx of indie bands that crushed expectations and were in the indie sphere but sounded like college radio fodder (college radio is the best thing out there) or like radio stations in the 80's, like what Los Angeles KROQ was in the 80's, before corporate control to the degree that radio across this country became all the same. In fact, there is this undefinable quality that JEEN crafts or maybe possesses here organically that reminds me so much of that same undefinable magnetism of MGMT on their first (and maybe their only great album thus far) Oracular Spectacular.
"For The Romance" begins with it's chorus in a hazy way that suggests gang vocals though they are not, feeling immediately like a sing-a-long rally cry.
"If I sounded too moody
If I found the true beautyWithout sounding too bougie
Where do I go for the romance"
When the verses begin, JEEN goes for a more intimate vocal sound and while this dance party as pumping as it feels with it's cool dominant bass, thump beat, pushing an East Coast art punk meets West Coast indie pop, has textural cues that is tinged with melancholia. By far the connective sonic tissue, emotional tissue here is JEEN's vocal countenance that for me feels strident but emotionally complex as if there are shards of distress, sadness that is part of the fiber of her being as she raised her fist in the air, as a survivor. Life can be brutal but it is meant to be lived.
Love her vocal here and love this song.
These are the rest of the vocals starting at the first verse.
"Started choking, end of October
Fast forward and right out of nowhere II feel alright. so don't worry
Oh let it go, everybody knows there's no halo
Yeah but we can see at night
Cos we're electrified
If I sounded too moody
If I found the true beauty
Without sounding too bougie
Where do I go for the romance
Hold out, hold on for something
Don't cry though when you're waving something goodbye, let it die
Baby not that know when it exploded
Right there in my hand if I hold it tight
I didn't come in here to fight
If I sounded too moody
If I found the true beauty
Without sounding too bougie
Where do I go for the romance
If I sounded too moody
If I found the true beauty
Without sounding too bougie
Where do I go for the romance
Free show, so mediocre
Got bored and then right out of nowhere I
I feel alright"
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
A record about persistence and the fleeting balance between hope and disillusionment, For the Romance showcases JEEN at her most honest and unguarded. “Perseverance,” she says simply, when asked about its central theme. “I’m just trying not to become too jaded or bitter in this industry. It’s a hard battle sometimes, but I’m still here.”]
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://soundcloud.com/thisisjeenmusic
https://www.instagram.com/thisisjeenmusic/
https://www.facebook.com/thisisjeenmusic/
http://www.jeen.ca/
https://jeen.bandcamp.com/
Prolific, enduring, and always from the heart, JEEN is Canada’s most beloved underground rockstar and she’s fighting for her life on For the Romance, her hypnotic, propulsive new EP.
The record marks her eighth solo release and sixth collaboration with producer Ian Blurton (Change of Heart, C’mon, Future Now). Across its tracks, JEEN stretches into bold new territory, from the Chappell Roan–esque disco lament of “Look What You Did” to the pop-rock charge of “Psychedelic Silver Lining,” and the earworm title track “For the Romance.”
“I had a series of existential crises trying to get this EP to the finish line, but I’m proud of the tracks that came out of it,” JEEN says. “I decided a long time ago this is the only way I can live if I’m going to be real with myself.”
JEEN has been making music since her teens, from co-fronting Cookie Duster with Broken Social Scene’s Brendan Canning to her 2024 album Gold Control. Along the way, she’s become known for her relentless writing and uncompromising standards. What keeps her going is connection with fans: “When someone reaches out telling me how the songs I made became a part of their life, it’s like being given a deep breath, better than any drug.”
JEEN, indie rock, alt pop, dance pop, art punk, hybrid music, funk bass, slapping drum beat, "For The Romance", East Coast art punk, brand new EP "For the Romance", alternative music, subversive,
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