Adelaide’s favourite chaos queens Teenage Joans kick off 2025 swinging with ‘Sweet And Slow’, a neon-soaked blast of early 2010s pop-punk joy that sounds like Paramore met Olivia Rodrigo at a skatepark and dared each other to feel too much. It’s nostalgic, it’s explosive, and it’s painfully catchy — you’ll be yelling the chorus before the first listen is even over.
The single, premiering just months after their emo-laced banger ‘1800-PAINLESS’ and a spine-tingling triple j Like A Version performance, marks the band’s first big swing since their critically acclaimed debut LP The Rot That Grows Inside My Chest — a record that dug deep and screamed even deeper. But where that album held your hand through heartbreak and healing, ‘Sweet And Slow’ takes you on a joyride through the dizzy highs of infatuation.
Lyrically, the Joans are still on top form — cramming in Phoebe Bridgers references, game show metaphors and wide-eyed vulnerability like it’s a competition they’ve already won. “It’s about choosing the same person over and over again, even when you know better,” Cahli says. “We didn’t overthink it — the lyrics just poured out.”
It’s the kind of song that makes you want to text your ex, dance on your bed, cry into your slushie, and then hit repeat.
The Teenage Joans Backstory (Because You Should Know by Now):
Formed in Adelaide and crowned triple j Unearthed High winners in 2020, Teenage Joans have blazed through the scene like a glitter-fuelled freight train. Self-described juice-box punk-pop, their sound is equal parts bratty charm and emotional depth. They’ve notched up multiple Hottest 100 spots (#87 in 2020, #84 in 2021), dropped the award-sweeping EP Taste of Me, and made history at the 2021 SAM Awards with seven wins, including Best Live Performance and Best New Artist.
Since then, they’ve sold out headline tours, shared stages with Foo Fighters, Sum 41, Amy Shark, Pale Waves, The Chats, and more, and hit major festivals like Splendour in the Grass, Laneway, Unify, SXSW Austin, and Good Things. In 2024 alone, they stormed through the US supporting Sleeping With Sirens and Holding Absence.
With ‘Sweet And Slow’, they’ve set the tone for 2025: loud, unapologetic, and ready to punch feelings straight through your speakers.
Buy/Stream ‘Sweet and Slow’ HERE.
