Teen Idle is the musical moniker of NJ-based producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Sara Abdelbarry. In middle school, Sara was convinced she would become a cardiac surgeon – conveniently, her craft still gets to the heart, just with sound instead of a scalpel.
Inspired by the multitude of pop and rock artists she used to watch on MTV starting at 8 years old, Sara knew there was a special magic about music she had to experience for herself.
Growing up in an Arab-American family, Arabic music was always playing around the house during her childhood, even just from her parents and grandparents singing in the kitchen. In 2nd grade, Sara started buying CDs to entertain herself on her school bus rides to elementary school, piquing her interest in pop melodies.
At age 16, after getting music lessons from some of the most proficient musicians on the Jersey Shore, Sara's interest in music expanded. After discovering "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac, everything changed – that song made Sara want to start writing songs as emotional as theirs.
Meshing the heartfelt nature of influences like Lindsey Buckingham with the grittiness and abrasiveness of '90s grunge and the lovelorn tendency of '60s acts like The Supremes, Teen Idle makes cinematic rock music with a statement.
Teen Idle's debut LP Nonfiction is out now on Boston-based indie label H1 Massive. In 2020, Teen Idle's first EP, Insomniac Dreams, was released on NYC indie label Green Witch Recordings. Premiering to early acclaim, 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 one of Slowdive's early releases.
Photo by David Ross Lawn