EXTENDED PLAY 103: TEEN JESUS AND THE JEAN TEASERS: GLORY (DELUXE) | ALBUM REVIEW

Words by AJ Mahar.

After releasing their sophomore album in November last year, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers return dropping some sprinkles with GLORY (Deluxe). In the midst of a Laneway run and upcoming tours at home and abroad, the group look for a brief moment of quiet.

The initial album proved to be a well-produced sucker punch. WATCHING ME LEAVE, and Hottest 100 entry BALCONY, opened with assertive independence, the latter having a slightly Brat inspired attitude. Other standout moments included the more sensitive TALKING, and DAYLIGHT, perfect companion pieces for a breakup playlist. The album eventually sees them at their most dramatic with the forever accelerating MOTHER, before ending with peace and a steady pace on WONDERFUL. 

The first addition to the initial twenty-nine minutes is BATH WATER. The song takes on a lowkey bop with a moody, detective show style riff. Its slightly disorientating feel gives way to slow grungy breakdown, like the final stretch on the two-a.m. last train.

From the messages of many bumble accounts, GO WASTE MY TIME finds its way onto the album. Ominous fuzz bass and breathy vocals before bursting into a catchy venting session. This is one fans will definitely be quickly familiar enough with to chant on their upcoming Australian tour. 

If your breakup playlist isn’t hurting enough on one of those days, it’s time to add TALKING – stripped back. A delicate, muffled piano gently drives sparse percussion and spacey guitar sounds. An unaffected vocal leaves the lyrics to echo in one’s mind and reflect extra deep. Even its companion DAYLIGHT, naturally gets the same treatment to keep the haunting going. The absence of drums brings a closer appreciation of the melody in the guitars.

MINE at first seems like a strange choice for the stripped back treatment. But with a steady, filtered backbeat, the song chugs at a murmur that eternally sounds like it’s leading to a massive drop. Remix maybe? 

In contrast, WONDERFUL is definitely a more obvious and friendly choice for a stripped-back version. The glockenspiel in the intro always chimes a signal of calm. A quiet goodbye after the initial onslaught.

In keeping with the Canberra quartet’s obsession with Heated Rivalry, the stripped back versions bring visions of token TV drama scenes. While they were probably told off for watching too much television as kids, it makes for some nice framing of the songs when listening in a reflective mood.