Jeanines

With a sound that captures the ramshackle energy of C-86-style guitar pop, the winsome grit of noise pop bands of the '90s, and some classic folk-rock jangle, the Jeanines are a Brooklyn duo who know their indie pop history, as their 2019 self-titled debut and 2022's assured follow-up Don't Wait for a Sign clearly demonstrate. The group was formed in the late 2010s by singer/guitarist/songwriter Alicia Jeanine and bassist/drummer Jed Smith, who had played for years in the band My Teenage Stride. Together they balanced Jeanine's jangling guitar and wistful vocals with the punch of Smith's one-man rhythm section. They released two demos online in January 2018 and, thanks to the dual attraction of Smith's pedigree and the sprightly nature of the songs, they were noticed right off the bat. They issued another two tracks in 2018, including a cover of a Dum Dum Girls' song, and played a number of shows around the metro New York City area. The legendary noise pop label Slumberland liked what they heard and released their first record, The Jeanines. Recorded and produced by Smith, the album featured a cover of a Siddeleys song and was released in June 2019. By the time they began work on more music, Jeanine had moved to Massachusetts for a new job and the global pandemic made it doubly hard for the duo to record together. Instead they traded music back and forth online, adding some folk-rock and neo-psych to the mix on 2022's Don't Wait for a Sign. ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi