TEEN, Ava Luna, Jo Firestone

Pivoting from the melodic psych of their previous efforts, TEEN's second full-length The Way And Color shows the young group confidently shifting direction with their distinctly modern, R&B-informed pop.

Searching for inspiration following their last album, the band's three sisters – lead singer Teeny Lieberson, keyboardist Lizzie Lieberson and drummer Katherine Lieberson – found direction from a simple lineup tweak, joining with bassist Boshra AlSaadi to mine a new side of the band's sound.

What emerged was the ambitious scope of The Way And Color. Recorded over a ten-day session in upstate New York, the band infuses their brooding pop with minimalist beats and complex harmonies, inspired by D'Angelo and Erykah Badu's classic R&B.

Amidst the album's rich patchwork, Teeny emerges as a expressive, inspired frontwoman, touching on themes of relationships, womanhood and power. The record's crisp production from Daniel Schlett (DIIV) showcases her voice's stylistic agility, from the theatrical vamping of "Rose 4 U" to the twisting, soulful "More Than I Ask For." Toying with genre, TEEN successfully trades in the reverb for a punchy clarity and newfound maturity.


With the release of the critically-lauded Services EP in early 2010 and a near-constant stream of shows and short tours over the successive months, NYC natives Ava Luna have built a reputation for noisy, manic basement soul music in the form of stark, earthy synth-driven beats coupled with tight, prismatic vocal harmonies,
which Christopher Weingarten has described as "beautiful, infectious, and damn-near indescribable."

In a church basement in Brooklyn's deep south, they hone an eclectic mashup of girl group harmonies, growling synth-funk, shimmering distortion, soul stylings set to post-punk snobbery, complex compositions in the guise of quirky pop songs; Al Green singing with Wire, Depeche Mode backing Jamie Lidell. The band has drawn
comparisons to TV on the Radio, Dirty Projectors, Prince, Arab on Radar, Phillip Glass, James Chance, Aphex Twin....


Jo Firestone is a comedian and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. She creates and hosts several live shows around the city that usually fall under the genres of "low-brow" "recurring" "Brooklyn events". She can also be seen at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater hosting The Incredible Game Show Showcase and improvising with the Lloyd Team, Witch. Jo performs stand-up throughout the city, as well. You can listen to Jo every Monday night from 7-8pm EST hosting Dr. Gameshow on WFMU.