If you haven’t heard of TEEN yet, you will. The Brooklyn-based chick rockers have been playing constantly since the winter  of 2010, including performances with Purity Ring, War on Drugs and Yellow Ostrich and most recently, Ariel Pink, Santigold, Frankie Rose, Dean Wareheim and Hospitality. SO you can see why we we’re really grateful they took the time out of their hectic schedule to talk with us, here’s what we chatted about …

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Serial Optimist: The name “TEEN”, which obviously infers some specific images, but I read somewhere it isn’t necessarily with the intentions of evoking the high school years, but more it just kind of came about due to necessity? Is that true? How did you come together as a band?

TEEN: Yes – the name is really just a nickname for Teeny. Teeny had written little doods and wanted to play live shows, so she asked each of us to come along and things developed from there.

SO: What is the dynamic of having three sisters in the band like? Did you play music together growing up, and if so what? And did Jane also come from a musical upbringing?

TEEN: Like anything else it has its ups and downs. We don’t always get along – which is true for any group working together…but we usually explode and resolve things pretty quickly, whereas with people who aren’t as close, you’re afraid to get things out in the open and resentment can build. There is also a lot of trust and openness musically which is important in doing anything creative – we’re not afraid to make mistakes in front of each other or try out new ideas. That goes for Jane too, by the way. She’s like a fourth sister.

JANE:– My mother’s side of the family was very musical. I remember singing with my grandmother when i was really little, and then my mother and I would always sing together as well. My Uncle Tom was a jazz musician in NY and was in a touring band in the 60’s and 70’s. I remember he taught me how to play chopsticks on the piano, and I was like, “oh, I could do this!”

SO: Teeny also played Keyboard with Here We Go Magic, what are some of the other bands you all played in before forming or play with now?

TEEN: Teeny, Lizzie and Jane used to play with Amazing Baby. Jane has played with Desert Stars and has a solo project, Spider.

SO: You recorded, In Limbo, your first album together in a barn in rural Connecticut. What drew you there? What did you take away from the experience?

TEEN: Our good friend (and former band drummer) Maia Ibar’s family owns the barn. We wanted a place to record away from the chaos of nyc and had no money for a studio … we’d spent time there before – it’s a really special place where we could relax and enjoy the process of recording…

SO: Who did you work with on In Limbo?

TEEN: We were really lucky to work with Sonic Boom, who mixed and produced the record and Jen Turner (also formerly of HWGM) who engineered and played drums.

TEEN – “Electric”

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SO: How do you approach songwriting as a band? What influences your songwriting?

TEEN: This is evolving as we go … But usually Teeny writes a sketch and the band flushes it out. Listening to music is the greatest tool for songwriting. Even if it’s one guitar line or horn idea, it can really inspire a totally different approach to songwriting and arranging. It’s important to draw from a vast pool of genres so that your ideas can become more singular and interesting. 

SO: Being close friends and siblings, do you have an iconic band/album/song thats your anthem or your jam that’s influenced your sound?

TEEN: Our sound is something that is constantly evolving. And we definitely don’t all like all the same music. We have different influences/interests at any given time which informs us as players. But there is a certain kind of cohesion/synchronicity that can happen with family and close friends and we definitely feel that when we play together. So rather than being one thing it’s a process of constantly developing who you are as musicians and as band together.

SO: Do you feel you are more of a “band that’s best experienced on album” and “band that’s best experienced live”?

TEEN: Listening to In Limbo and hearing us live are different things. We’re definitely moving towards making new recordings and the live show more alike so they can be one and the same.

TEEN – “Carolina”

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“Carolina” is from their forthcoming EP of the same name. Out May 28th on Carpark Records.
Catch TEEN at Carpark Records SXSW Showcase on Friday with Dent May, Tori Y Moi, Cloud Nothings and more.

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SO Note:  You can TRY to keep up with TEEN by following them @_T_E_E_N_.