Teen Idle is the musical moniker of NJ-based songwriter, producer, 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.
At age 9, Sara picked up the guitar, and she hasn’t stopped ever since. Inspired by the multitude of pop and rock artists she was glued to MTV watching in elementary school, Sara knew there was a special magic about music she had to experience for herself.
Growing up in an Egyptian-American family, Arabic music was always playing around the house during her childhood, whether on an 8-track or 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 – Gwen Stefani’s “Sweet Escape” and Kelly Clarkson’s early albums were some highlights.
At age 16, after getting music lessons from some of the most talented musicians on the Jersey Shore, Sara felt like she needed to write her own music. After discovering “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac, everything changed – the intricacy and intimacy of that song made Sara want to write ballads as emotional as theirs. Shortly after, she finished her first song.
Meshing the heartfelt nature of influences like Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham with the grittiness and abrasiveness of grunge and the lovelorn tendency of ’60s acts like The Ronettes, Teen Idle makes emotional rock music with a statement (and a cinematic tendency).
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.
What the Press has to Say
“Expanding the sonic palette that began with ‘Birthday Cake’ and carried over into ‘Norway’, Teen Idle’s latest single ‘Saccharine’ is some next level musical mastery from an artist who is already proving to be THE one to watch in 2023 with each passing release.”
“‘Saccharine’ might be the most intricate yet in Sara Abdelbarry’s aural arsenal. A track that’s vibrant, vivacious, and glistening seemingly all at the same time and fully utilizing the ‘multi-instrumentalist’ tag that Abdelbarry justly brandishes, ‘Saccharine’ is playful yet poised bringing some soothing (And sexy?) saxophone sounds into the arena along with a bouncing bass line and Samir Tawalare’s divine drumming once again accenting the underlying grooves.”