“Been in the Dark” by Jeanines

Hot on the heels of an excellent 2019 album by Brooklyn jangle-pop outfit Jeanines comes a 4 song EP called “Things Change” on UK indie-pop wonder-label WIAIWYA. Here’s “Been in the Dark” from the upcoming (mid-March) release of the 7″ EP:

Jeanines are Alicia Jeanine (guitar/vocals) and Jed Smith (bass/drums). The fast-paced jangle-pop of “Been in the Dark” is adjacent to that 1980s style of the likes of Shop Assistants and Dolly Mixture, mixing DIY post-punk ethos with classic sixties pop pop-craft, and delivering it with the same kind of rapid-fire nervous energy of more contemporary janglers Veronica Falls.

But there is also just a hint of early Magnetic Fields in the way the song blends sunshine with melancholy, as the lyrics appear to reflect on identity anxiety while the song fills every second of its galloping 2 minute length with majestic melodies and frantic propulsive action.

“Either Way” by Jeanines

Anything released on California label Slumberland Records is worth checking out. Not everything on Slumberland jangles like crazy, but a fair chunk of the catalogue celebrates the jangling vibration of guitar strings. Jeanines have an LP coming out and here’s the ultra-jangling opener “Either Way”

It’s one minute and 44 seconds of pure pop. With its simple, effective drumming and classic, hook-filled melancholy melodicism it brings to mind the work of late 1980s Edinburgh band Shop Assistants – who added a bit more buzz-saw fuzz to their jangle – and Stateside contemporaries Black Tambourine.

Jeanines are from Brooklyn, NY. and are singer and songwriter Alicia Jeanine (guitar) together with multi-instrumentalist Jed Smith (bass and drums). Their 16 track self titled album is released by Slumberland Records mid June on LP, CD and Download.