Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers: ‘We don’t need to be the largest band on the planet. It’s simply enjoyable enjoying with our besties’ | Australian music

“If you want to rock, you’ve gotta break the rules. You’ve gotta get mad at The Man,” a sensible man (Jack Black) as soon as stated (in School of Rock). And in 2015, 4 15-year-olds in Canberra watching the Richard Linklater movie at a sleepover determined they needed to just do that, forming a rock band the morning after that has change into one among Australia’s most fun acts: Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers – a joke identify instructed by one among their uncles that caught.

The 4 youngsters had sufficient punk brio that they have been quickly being booked to play venues they weren’t sufficiently old to enter unchaperoned. Adults round them would assume they have been of their early 20s, after they have been truly 16 or 17.

“Our parents would tag along and we’d have lemonade on the rider. We’d have our little school backpacks, then go to a pub to play a show – when you look back now it was really strange. We thought we were really cool,” laughs guitarist Scarlett McKahey, now 24.

“To be fair, it was pretty cool,” provides singer Anna Ryan, 24.

They bought greater and greater, however they nonetheless felt impostor syndrome; when big crowds lined as much as see Teen Jesus play at Brisbane’s Bigsound in 2018, “I was like, what are they lining up for? Who is playing after us?” says Ryan.

Their 2022 EP Pretty Good for a Girl Band was named for the backhanded reward they typically heard; it included the hit Girl Sports, impressed by Stephenson who, after knocking her tooth out in a skating accident, was informed by a male dentist that she ought to “stick to girl sports”. (The refrain kicks off with the mantra: “Fuck off, fuck off!)

“It was meant to be ironic, because it’s obviously deeply offensive,” says McKahey, of the EP’s title. “But people would come up after that and be like, ‘You guys ARE pretty good for a girl band!’”

“People would be like, ‘Oh my god, you guys ARE my favourite girl band,’” provides Ryan.

“It backfired a bit,” sighs bassist Jaida Stephenson.

Their debut, 2023’s I Love You, was extra polished, with the wistful anthem Salt and the catchy belter Ahhhh! successful them finest breakthrough artist on the Aria awards. That similar 12 months, they opened for the Foo Fighters on their Australian tour. “Our managers called us and said, ‘Guess who’s playing with the Foo Fighters?’” McKahey remembers. “And we said, who?”

At their first gig (at a faculty fete), they’d performed Nirvana covers; now they have been enjoying with Dave Grohl.

“I had to completely disconnect. I had to treat him as a regular person, because otherwise I’d throw up,” Ryan laughs.

Teen Jesus later opened for Pearl Jam on their Australian tour, then joined their US area tour. “We’d never been backstage at a stadium before Fooeys – so by the time we were touring with Pearl Jam we were like, OK, we’ve done this before,” says McKahey. “And by the time we went to America, we knew how to play those rooms and we also knew the band – which is a fucked thing to say about Pearl Jam!”

Somewhere alongside the best way, a highschool band had change into one among Australia’s most fun rock acts. “We didn’t do this because we want to become the biggest band in the world or we want to become famous. It’s just fun playing shows with our besties. And I think that energy really shows in our music,” says Stephenson.

Their new album, Glory, sounds lots grander than something they’ve completed earlier than; ​as ​punchy and contagious as the most effective of I Love You​, however with ​a darker, synthy sound. There is Balcony, a taunting banger that shall be cherished by Wet Leg followers, and the beautiful Unscarred, which has echoes of the Cranberries. Listening to it made me really feel oddly hopeful, basking in its assured vulnerability; they’re nonetheless sticking it to The Man.

“I’m done being someone you ignore,” Ryan sings on Unscarred. “Don’t bother calling me back, don’t bother calling me back.”

“I feel like the gap between being 20 and 25 is actually huge,” says McKahey. “I’ve lived a thousand lives this past four years. We’re actual professional musicians now. We’re legit. And we went into this album with so much intention and knew exactly what we wanted it to look like … it’s really good and we’re really happy.”

Glory was produced by Catherine Marks, an Australian producer who has additionally labored with Boygenius and Wolf Alice. (“She won a freaking Grammy,” says McKahey.) They all lived collectively for 5 weeks on the studio; sleeping, consuming, jamming, watching Married at First Sight, then repeat – with Marks even monitoring what music they placed on throughout journeys to the grocery store – to form the album’s final sound.

“It changed so much because of her. She really made it exactly what we wanted,” says McKahey.

Has the music trade, and the world, moved on from the times after they have been solely “pretty good for a girl band?” “Kind of,” says McKahey. “I also think there’s been such a rise of conservatives who think women shouldn’t be able to get abortions, or work. There’s a lot of non-male music that’s really big, which is great. But there’s also the Charlie Kirks of the world.”

Generally, they’ve discovered that the music trade will not be so unhealthy; Ryan’s expectation that it may be “this terrifying place where people are going to try and wrong me everywhere I go”, they admit, was largely formed by Alvin and the Chipmunks. But the 4 have discovered to face their floor: “When we were younger, we were in the mindset of everybody else knows best, but now we know what is best for us,” Ryan says.

The transition from being 4 buddies in a highschool band to an expert band who occur to be childhood buddies might be delicate. But none of them can think about anything.

“We’ve been in the band for so long that I don’t even really know what it would be like without it,” says McKahey. “We all speak this language that nobody else can speak. We know each other super well. When we’re touring, if someone’s having a bad day we all can read it enough to leave them alone and not take it personally.

“That’s a big thing musically too – not getting offended if your idea doesn’t work. When we were 18, we were all a bit grizzly – because we were 18. Now, it’s so easy.”

Suddenly, a brand new voice pipes up: their drummer, Neve van Boxsel, who has been mute all the time.

“I’m so sorry for not contributing, I’m driving to work and the traffic is terrible,” she shouts, because the others snicker. “I agree with every answer! I have nothing to add!”

Glory is out on 7 November

Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers’ songs to dwell by

Each month we ask our headline act to share the songs which have accompanied them via love, life, lust and dying.

What’s the music you would like you wrote?

Reptilia by the Strokes. It has among the best guitar x bass solos of all time, endlessly jealous we didn’t write it.

What is the music you may have listened to essentially the most instances this 12 months?

Love Takes Miles by Cameron Winter. This complete album is pure crack however this music particularly has been on fixed repeat.

If your life was a film, what would the opening credit music be?

Kinda tacky however You Get What You Give by New Radicals. This music began enjoying in our tour bus on the finish of one among our favorite excursions, and it absolutely felt like a film second.

What is your go-to karaoke music?

Pump It by the Black Eyed Peas. Need we clarify? I simply need to sing Fergie’s breakdown half.

What’s a music you possibly can by no means hearken to once more?

Let it Go from Frozen. I might pay good cash to not hear this once more.

What underrated music deserves traditional standing?

Moonlight Lady by Julio Inglesias. I do know it is a fairly well-known music however I personally imagine it needs to be the largest music on the planet. Period.

What is a music you really liked as a youngster?

Cigarette Daydreams by Cage the Elephant. We had numerous seaside roadtrips soundtracked by this music!

What is the primary music/album to procure?

The Secret Life of… by the Veronicas. Technically this was my sister’s first album, however I stole the CD sufficient instances that I’m going to say it as my very own.