It's been nearly three years since the self-titled Jeanines album on Slumerland Records, but the Queens duo is finally back. The new record, Don't Wait For A Sign, is brief but brilliant, the sound of everything you loved as an indie kid wrapped up with a bow.
While some of this, like opener "That's Okay", reveals debts owed to Pam Berry bands like Glo-Worm, other tracks here, such as "Any Day Now" seem of a piece with early Belle & Sebastian in mood and tone, if nothing else. Of course, Jeanines favor a very basic, simple approach, such that a standout like "People Say" seems a cousin to DIY pop pioneers Young Marble Giants and Linda Smith. Alicia Jeanine and Jed Smith tackle each of these numbers with a clear, deliberate focus, meaning that while this could get lumped in with the dream-pop the pair's home label's offered up before, it's worth repeating how this sort of strains at that edges of the genre envelope.
At their best, like on the title cut, Jeanines stake out territory that seems starker than on their debut. This is jangle-pop, sure, but it's precisely rendered, without waste, and the hooks of each track seem sharper as a result. Things remain propulsive in a modest way throughout these baker's dozen numbers, with Alicia and Jed marching through a landscape of riffs and chords that conjure up a multitude of vibes and feelings, enough that a listener with a passing familiarity with any number of C86-era bands is likely to feel right at home.
Don't Wait For A Sign is out on Friday via Slumberland Records.