Jeanines - How Long Can It Last (2025)
Artist: Jeanines
Author: Sarah
Date: 07/07/2025
Listen: Apple Music | Bandcamp | Spotify
Back when their debut came out in 2019, Jeanines were easily the indiepop band that I was most excited about. Running through 16 songs in 25 minutes, they managed to pull off the same trick Vivian Girls made a career off of, giving you a bunch of songs that make you think "well, surely I can listen again since it was only half the length of a typical song". Unfortunately, they sort of stagnated there for a few years, with their second album, Don't Wait for a Sign mostly just sounding like a retread of the debut, but without weaker hooks. On How Long Can It Last, they make some changes that feel like a step in the right direction, but they're not completely there yet.
Most obviously, they've added a permanent bassist to the band lineup, Maggie Gaster. While their previous albums weren't totally bereft of bass, it always sort of felt like its presence was sort of minimized. Which is why it came as such a pleasant surprise when "Coaxed a Storm" was centered around a bassline, and it was a good one! There's also a couple songs that had strings on them, which helps them to stand out for the pack, plus I'm always a sucker for good strings.
Unfortunately, too many of the songs have the same issue as their previous album, that you could probably put them on the debut without me really noticing the difference. And that could easily be forgiven, if they were instant earworms like "Hits the Bone" or "Either Way" were, but they're not really. I know it's probably bad of me to make snap judgments based off of just a couple listens, but this type of album isn't one that tends to be a grower, in my experience.
While it's not looking likely as of right now that How Long Can It Last will be placing too highly in my year-end rankings, I do think it's the album I needed to hear from Jeanines. While I went into it mostly out of a sense of obligation to hear one of the higher-profile indiepop releases we'd be getting this year, I came out of it actually pretty excited about where they might be going next!