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TeenCanteen ‘Sirens’ E.P. review by Stephen Watt

The featherless daughters of river Gods distressed hordes of men at sea who were besotted by sweet songs and fabled charms which fatally lured them to their deaths. Applying a superlunary magnetism, TeenCanteen’s ‘Sirens’ EP release draws in the unsuspecting listener with a sweet-tempered kindliness cloaked in nostalgia belonging to anyone’s first love, but wrenches at the bittersweet splinters which endure in the heart – and thereafter, emanates the resolute fortitude displayed after any gut-wrenching breakup.

On “What You Gonna Do About Me?”, it is a convivial inception with sprightly keys, sawtooth lyrics hawked by frontwoman Carla Easton, interspliced with Debs Smith’s single-minded drumming and an alliance with the sisterhood to not be reduced by any lover. “If I want to see my friends, I’ll see my friends”, underlines exactly where the protagonist stands. A veil of strength insisting that one is fine, but really…   

Sita Pieraccini’s glorious electronic basslines in tandem with the synth-led “Can’t Go Back (Starry Eyed)” is full of delicious lyrics lamenting the trials and tribulations of relationships, including “…cut my teeth on diamond kisses, built a war instead of bridges…”. There’s something candid in the heartsick admission here; the sort of crestfallen vulnerability which sirens were so notably fabled for – before revamping their souls. Conversely, on “Millions”, TeenCanteen’s anthemic drums and the silvery barb of the lyricism reverse the format of the previous track, this time concluding in the withered fruits of grief coming to the fore with someone crying at the tail-end of the track. Even perfume needs alcohol to dilute the ingredients!  

Final track ‘Sirens (Piano Mix)’ is purposefully slow, contemplative; “I wish I could ride my bike with the confidence I had as a child”, sings Easton – lamenting the happier times with beautiful harmonies alongside Chloe Philip and Pieraccini over a melancholic piano melody. “Reminds me of school days and hanging in the park, needing to be home before dark” wonderfully describe the early-romantic notion of childhood sweethearts before love soured, and the group’s eventual subscription to wander the meadows where love goes to die.

‘Sirens’ is a blend of other-worldly seduction and quixotic hallucinations deposited into the most practical and devastating circumstances which the human heart can ever be exposed to. If you are familiar with TeenCanteen’s earlier work, this will not disappoint you – but its earnest themes will surprise.

Upcoming Shows/ Key Dates

22nd April – TeenCanteen SIRENS EP Launch Party @ Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow
28th April – TeenCanteen SIRENS EP Tour Date @ Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh
10th May – Live Session with Marc Riley BBC 6 Music
11th May – TeenCanteen SIRENS EP Tour Date @ The Castle Hotel, Manchester
15th July – Indiefjord Festival, Norway
27th July – TeenCanteen SIRENS EP Tour Date @ The Green Door Store, Brighton
29th July – Indietracks Festival, Derby 12th August – Party in The Palace, Linlithgow
+ MORE TBA

Sirens – EP
Performed by TeenCanteen
Written by Carla J. Easton
Produced and Mixed by Stephen Watkins
Mastered by Joe Kane
Recorded at La Chunky Studio, Glasgow
Released via Last Night From Glasgow 2017

BAND WEBSITE

www.teencanteen.co.uk/

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