By Darwin Manning
manningd@grinnell.edu
Gracing Gardner’s domains will be some youth and exuberance, as TEEN gets set to perform on Tuesday, October 2nd. This four-person female band, based out of New York City, will make their maiden voyage to the jewel of the prairie.
The band features Teeny Lieberson, whose name inspired the band’s name, her sisters Katherine and Lizzie Lieberson who play the drums and piano, respectively, and Jane Herships on guitar.
Teeny Lieberson formed the band after her time as Here We Go Magic’s keyboardist, when she decided that she wanted to collaborate with her two sisters. From there, they have taken off over the past two years exploring many dimensions of their music.
The Liebersons are from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Teeny Lieberson found inspiration to compose and perform from an early age. Her mother was a musician and her father a composer. While she grew up around the musically inclined, Teeny Lieberson dabbled in fine arts and theater for a while, until she fell into the same discipline of her parents. Teeny Lieberson bounced around the States attending many different schools. She eventually landed in New York City, and the two Lieberson sisters and Jane followed suit; the rest has been history.
“I eventually ended up in New York about nine years ago, because that’s where things are happening,” Teeny Lieberson said.
The group released the EP Little Doods in 2011, followed by the well-reviewed Limbo. Within this recent release, a particular song, “Electric,” has created a lot of discussion. According to music review site Stereogum, “Electric” introduces “dream-state melodies and nearly-kraut rhythmic moments with “Spider’s” [another hit off the album] heavy-lidded siren style for a champion of a track.”
Teeny Lieberson admitted that this song was a chance for the group to experiment a bit, yet also has an intriguing simplicity to it.
“That song’s one of the more straightforward, but I guess having a guitar solo in it was new, because I think having a guitar solo is pretty ridiculous,” Lieberson said. “We played around with trying the guitar with different effects.”
TEEN, with youthfulness that clashes with impassioned vocals, creates a blend that is a true pleasure to the ears. Stereogum claims that they have ‘an all laconic ’60s go-go attitude laced to an undercurrent of pulsating bass and layered, curlicue psychedelics’.
The group hopes to swoop in to Gardner with fresh eyes to the dingy digs and evoke a ride of many different moods. They believe the experience of forecasting their sounds in a new territory will allow for some undiscovered emotions for themselves as well.
“I hope it’s a moody experience and not just one note…I hope people feel a flurry of different things,” Teeny Lieberson said. “I hope it’s like a ride that you go through and explore different emotions.”
The group has trekked their way through Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, and is playing in Chicago on Saturday. Ultimately, they are gearing up for what they hope will be a very memorable visit to small-town Iowa.
“Sometimes the most random shows can be pure magic,” Lieberson said. “The ones where you have never been to that venue can often be the most entertaining, plus, college kids are always great to play to.”
