Short, and straight to the point.  Existential crises and bouts of free-fall all play their part in making For The Romance – the eighth release from Canadian alt-indie songwriter Jeen – a rewarding experience.

Release Date:  30^th October 2025

Label: Self Release

Formats: Digital

PROLIFIC AND (PROBABLY) FAMILIAR

Although she’s maybe not as well-known on these shores as she is in her native Ontario, there’s every chance that British browsers of these pages will have heard the music of alt-indie songwriter and performer Jeen – aka Jeen O’Brien.  It’s likely, for instance, that you’ll have heard Jeen’s music on ads for products such as Panasonic equipment or Estée Lauder perfume.  If not, then maybe you’ve had your ears pricked by some film or TV score like Cook Off, Republic of Doyle or Hockey Wives.  It’s even possible that you’ve picked up on the music of Cookie Duster, the band that Jeen co-fronts with Brendan Canning…

As a solo performer, Jeen is someone for whom the description ‘prolific’ provides a snug fit.  For the Romance is the eight solo collection in a run that started back in 2018 with her solo debut, Gift Shop and includes Jeen’s most recent offering, 2024’s Gold Control.

EXISTENTIAL CRISES

Produced by long-term comrade-in-arms, Ian Blurton, For the Romance is a short but immensely rewarding collection.  Alongside Jeen (vocals, synth and guitar), the EP features Ian B on guitar, Stephen Szczesniak on drums and Anna Ruddick on bass.  The sound is tight, sometimes poppy, sometimes rocky, sometimes punky, and not a single note is wasted.

The run-up to the recording of the EP wasn’t easy; indeed, I get the distinct impression that Jeen doesn’t do ’easy,’ when anguished and fraught are the available options…  “I had a series of existential crises, trying to get the EP to the finish line, but I’m proud of the tracks that came out of it,” says Jeen.  “I decided a long time ago that this is the only way I can live if I’m going to be real with myself.”  She continues: “I do this for a living, so not having a day job has its pressures – just free-falling sometimes.  But the songs I make are where I put everything I have.”

FUNKY & CHUNKY

It’s the EP’s lead single, the funky, chunky, Look What You Did, that gets For The Romance up and running.  The song’s percussion-heavy backing is an inspired counterpart to Jeen’s vocals that alternate between resigned and world-weary in the verses to light and bright, in the song’s uplifting chorus. 

There’s a poppy ‘Blondie’ feel to the bouncy verses of Psychedelic Silver Lining but that feel goes right out of the window during the song’s heavy, punky, take-no-prisoners chorus.  And, with a nice swooping bassline from Anna and Stephen’s sharp, punchy, drumbeat, there’s a great deal to enjoy.

VULNERABLE – AND SUPREMELY DETERMINED

The crisp drums and the swooping bass are retained for the EP’s earworm title track but, this time, it’s the chiming guitar that provides the bright 1980s feel.  Jeen manages to sound both vulnerable and supremely determined, as the song turns itself into a joyous anthem.

Billed as a ‘rough home demo’ in the EP’s tracklisting, the excellent Baltimore isn’t, in all honesty, very ‘rough’ at all.  The song – and the production – offers all the Jeen hallmarks – an observational tone of voice, a solid thumping rhythm and a guitar line that encompasses both the ‘loose’ and the ‘sharp’ ends of the continuum.  It’s a song that doesn’t require any more polish, and I hope that Jeen – or Ian – isn’t tempted to add any.

A SONG TO SAVOUR

This short collection is brought to its close by a version of Labi Siffre’s Bless The Telephone that is, quite simply, stunning.  The production features just Jeen and an electric guitar; it’s vivid, it’s intimate, it’s respectful, it’s heartfelt and it’s utterly sincere.  A song to savour.

For Jeen, For The Romance has been a salvation.  “Music can be a religious experience as a writer or a listener.”  She says.  “This EP helped me fight through a really bad time.  If I’m lucky, I can only hope it might do that for someone else out there.”  Amen to that.

Watch the lyric video to Look What You Did – the EP’s opening track and lead single – below:

Jeen online: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / YouTube / Bandcamp

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