Teen Idle reintroduces herself with a cinematic serving of ‘Birthday Cake’
Teen Idle reintroduces herself with a cinematic serving of ‘Birthday Cake’
New Jersey singer-songwriter Sara Abdelbarry slices up a reflective ode to adolescence and personal evolution on Friday, July 7
NOW PLAYING: Listen to ‘Birthday Cake’ via Spotify
New album ‘Nonfiction’ set for release by indie label H1 Massive later this year
Asbury Park, N.J. [July 7, 2023] -- For many, the idea of a birthday cake represents a maturing progression, the passing of time, and a person’s evolution into a continuing, or journey towards, adulthood. But for “Birthday Cake,” the new slow-burning single from New Jersey’s Teen Idle, the cake that sits in front of its antagonist represents something at difficult odds with its intended purpose – time may be passing, as its uncompromisingly does, but the person is not pushing forward or progressing alongside it.
It’s a weighty subject, and one that belies the title’s reference point of a sweet dessert that usually elicits smiles. And that’s by design. “Birthday Cake,” set for streaming release on Friday, July 7 via H1 Massive, is the first delectable slice from Teen Idle’s forthcoming fall album Nonfiction, a largely autobiographical album from songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Sara Abdelbarry that carries forth her musical vision of “emotional rock with a cinematic tendency” while dancing loosely within the ever-expanding halls of indie, dream-pop, and grunge.
“‘Birthday Cake’ isn’t specifically about anyone, but rather a caricature of a person,” Abdelbarry says. “In some ways the song is autobiographical because the character it deals with is a hyperbolic version of people I’ve known. The song reflects on having a friend who is acting in immature ways you’ve outgrown, but knowing they still need your support and friendship. The character in the song is a reckless young adult who makes a series of bad, impulsive decisions and constantly worries all their friends and family. The type of self-destructive person who gets into legal and drug troubles and doesn’t take advice. Someone who has moved thousands of miles away with no clear plan for their life. And once they come back home, this person has burnt basically all their bridges.”
Harnessing the stories around her and filtering them through Teen Idle’s penchant for melodic, yet unflinching, songwriting is part of the larger narrative for the upstart artist. As Teen Idle, Abdelbarry produced the entire Nonfiction album herself, and performed all its instrumentation aside from its drums (performed by Samir Tawalare and recorded by Connor Hanson). A deep exhale of a single and a mental and emotional release, “Birthday Cake” is the follow-up to her breakout 2020 EP Insomniac Dreams, which earned Teen Idle global indie media praise from the likes of V13 and Mean Muse, and radio play from a spectrum of shows and stations, including KEXP, DKFM, and WRSU. One of the EP’s singles, "Burning," won Best Music Video at the 2022 Stockholm City Film Festival.
The anticipated release of “Birthday Cake,” however, starts a new chapter for Teen Idle, one that crystallizes previous efforts into a more dedicated nature that reflects Abdelbarry as a person as well as a songwriter and producer. Mixed by Evan Rudenjak and mastered by Kramer (Low, Galaxie 500, Pulp Fiction soundtrack), Nonfiction is designed to glow out of the speakers as a sort of memoir.
With a sound that skillfully interweaves a multitude of styles, Teen Idle can be placed among the likes of Wolf Alice, Lucy Dacus, and Japanese Breakfast, artists that excel in crafting stories. And within it, there’s a delicate balance of weathered grit and an ethereal glow. Falling into the yearning areas in between, allow “Birthday Cake” to act as a sort of reintroduction, she says.
“I toyed around with what the first single should be for a while,” Abdelbarry admits. “At first I very much wanted it to be a song that’s the complete opposite of ‘Birthday Cake’ and very upbeat, but then I realized that the dance-inducing quality of that song didn’t feel appropriate for the first single. A song that reflects on the people around you seemed like an apt way to introduce a record called Nonfiction. The more dance-y track I initially considered as the first single feels more like something to work towards, as it was something I had to work towards in my personal life, that feeling of release.”
That will come in due time, as Nonfiction slowly opens its musical narrative like chapters in a diary, with a series of singles and videos surfacing over the next few months before the album drops in September. Nonfiction is Sara Abdelbarry in this moment, harnessing her life experience over the past few years, starting in 2018, enduring the global pandemic, and emerging out on the other side of the most challenging period of her life. It’s a moment in time, documented through her music. Just don’t expect her to stay in one creative spot for very long.
“As I combine my musical influences and figure out more specifically what aspects of each of them I want to harness and also depart from, my music will keep changing,” Abdelbarry notes. “I’m proud of my first EP, Insomniac Dreams, and I think it’s the best work I’ve released to date; but a lot of those songs adhered to a specific sound. ‘Birthday Cake’ is the perfect example of a departure from that sound that doesn’t feel too foreign. With ‘Birthday Cake’ as my vehicle, I’m introducing myself again for the first time. It kind of feels like I’m saying ‘Hey guys, it’s me again. This is what I sound like as I approach my 26th year of life and it’s only going to get better from here.’”
Suddenly, the metaphor of the birthday cake, and all the things that come with turning another year older, and in some cases wiser or un-wiser, start to take on a parallel view, one that perhaps suddenly has Abdelbarry’s storylines open to wider interpretation. That’s up to the listener to decide. But as for actual birthday cake? That’s not up for debate, as Abdelbarry certainly has her favorites.
“I have a heavy bias towards carrot cake and am borderline obsessed with it,” she concludes with a laugh. “But if for some reason I couldn’t get that, I’d definitely go for chocolate cake. Maybe not so surprising since the single artwork is a chocolate cake.”
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‘Birthday Cake’ single artwork:
‘Birthday Cake’ production credits:
Produced by Sara Abdelbarry
Mixed by Evan Rudenjak
Mastered by Kramer
Recorded and engineered by Sara Abdelbarry
Drums recorded by Connor Hanson
Live drums by Samir Tawalare
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Teen Idle’s ‘Nonfiction’ Album Bio:
Boston-based record label H1 Massive will release the full length album from Teen Idle. Hailing from New Jersey, Teen Idle – the moniker of Sara Abdelbarry – emerges from the pandemic with a largely autobiographical album.
Abdelbarry began playing guitar at age 9, and writing her own music at age 16. Meshing the heartfelt nature of influences like Fleetwood Mac with the grittiness and abrasiveness of grunge and the lovelorn tendency of ’60s crooners, Teen Idle makes emotional rock with a statement.
In 2020, Teen Idle’s first EP, Insomniac Dreams, was released on NYC indie label Green Witch Recordings. Premiering to acclaim early on, the album charted at #10 on the WRSU charts and remained in the station’s Top 30 for 5 weeks straight. Singles from the album also played on KEXP, KXLU, and DKFM. The album was also released on CD by Sunday Records, home of Slowdive’s earliest records.
“The record is largely autobiographical and is kind of what it would be like to look at my diary, if I actually had one,” Abdelbarry says. “From heartbroken ballads to a sardonic stab at HR people, to songs that peer into friends’ lives, this album tackles so many things that were happening in my life at the time.”
Abdelbarry adds: “I struggled with a lot of personal things throughout the writing of these songs, and the record is quite contemplative and has undertones of longing. I overcame the toughest thing I’ve ever been through… and I came out with a whole damn album.”
Says H1 Massive CEO John Eye: “Teen Idle’s new album Nonfiction is a warm and introspective journey through self discovery, empowerment, and longing.”
The album’s lead single, “Birthday Cake,” will be released on July 7, with additional singles to follow. Music videos will also follow each single. The full album drops September 29, 2023. Based in New Jersey, Teen Idle has resumed live gigs, and Sara is open to interviews globally.
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Media praise for Teen Idle:
The music of Teen Idle can be heard and found on Asbury Park Press, DKFM, Fade Away Radiate, KEXP, KXLU, Mean Music Magazine, Outside Left, Patch, Records I Like, Scene Noise, V13, WRSU, and other fine stations, shows, platforms, and outlets…
“Abdelbarry looks to a diversity of influences when composing her music. From the guitar-heavy sound of more classic rock female artists to the more distorted sounds of the ’80s and ’90s rock to the musical traditionalism of her heritage, Abdelbarry is a very inspired young woman just scratching the surface of her creative abilities.” – V13
“Teen Idle perfectly encapsulates the feeling of a warm summer’s day in her recently released 6-song debut EP ‘Insomniac Dreams’, combining ethereal vocals with airy-sounding guitars and even an unexpected dose of organ synths. …In a genre that can too often risk similarity in songs, Teen Idle manages to give each track a distinguishable voice through the unique experimentation of melodies and instrumentation, with stellar results.” – Mean Muse Magazine
“One of our favorite discoveries of the year so far Teen Idle are a shoegaze dream-pop band from New Jersey. This mini-album is a mature, beautiful, melancholic debut which we can't get enough of! For fans of class ‘90s bands like Madder Rose and Mazzy Star.” – Off The Beaten Tracks
“‘Basement Songs’ expresses a warm, personal mood demanding attentive focus to the emotive lyrics told by Sara Abdelbarry’s soft-edged, tender vocals which extend between the rhythmic acoustic guitar strings.” – Scene Noise
“Teen Idle’s newest single ‘In The Morning’ is yet another example of her expert sonic craftsmanship. Continually, she writes these dream pop filled alternative rock masterpieces that are an absolute pleasure on the ears.” – Sonic Baptism/Dim Things
