TEEN - In Limbo

Dreamy psychedelia, amazing though it can be, often falls into the trap of sounding… samey, with songs on an album often running into one another in one blissful daze. Not so with ‘In Limbo’, TEEN’s debut album. As soon as the pounding drums of opener ‘Better’ begin, you know you’re in for a treat. Both the synths and the lush vocals teem with confidence, especially considering the repeated lyric, “I’ll do it better than anybody else”.

For a band named TEEN, their sound certainly doesn’t sound too young. 1960s influences are the base for the quirky pop of ‘Come Back’ and the meandering waltz of ‘Charlie’. Perhaps this is the music that keyboardist Teeny Lieberson (previously of Here We Go Magic) always wanted to make? With her sisters and best friend in tow, TEEN are a girl group of epic proportions, with sweeping vocal harmonies that just need to be listened to. Though you might want to just shrug off a song called ‘Huh’ – and it’s slow, syrupy intro might not do much to dissuade you – here is a brilliant example of lady vocals done right; strong in the right places, and soft when they need to be too.

The album’s title-track proves that TEEN is no one-trick pony, with the kind of expansive soundscape Warpaint might wish they could create. ‘Sleep Is Noise’ feels slightly misplaced following it up, possessing the kind of beats and ‘oohs’ that might fit better on a closer. But instead, that job goes to fiery, er, ‘Fire’. With its pretty guitar rhythms and switches in style, it feels almost like a journey, one that finishes with the end of the album itself.

At nearly an hour long, sometimes ‘In Limbo’ can make you feel as if you really are in limbo, trapped in a daze as the psychedelic synth washes over you. But there’s enough variances in the sound, with the tracklisting set up in such as way that you notice the changes in style, to make sure you pay attention to every minute.