When it comes to choosing singles to release prior to a full body of work, JEEN tends to get the opinions of those around her. Whether it’s her publisher suggesting the tracks - which she usually agrees with - or a member of her inner circle, she likes to hear which songs they are responding to.

Some of her latest singles from the newly-released LP Gold Control, “So What” and “Hold My Head Up Higher” featuring co-producer Ian Blurton, were the ones that best established what the album was about. They highlight the teamwork and dedication that was placed into this album and echoes the overall message.

“I like getting other people’s opinion about single choices because by the time I’m out of the studio I’ve heard the songs a million times inside and out,” she said. “I want to know what songs people gravitate towards because I get sick of my own perspective… Ultimately I just want to pick the tracks that resonate the most with people but sometimes that can be hard to predict.”

Gold Control is sonically abstract. Some of the genres where she has found the most influence - grunge, psych-rock, pop - are heard throughout the album, but there isn’t one specific influence that she attributes to it.

“I wasn’t listening to any particular albums or music when I wrote and recorded this LP because in some ways I guess I find it distracting,” she said. “I like being as un-influenced as much as possible so I’m not inadvertently regurgitating stuff I’ve just heard I guess. To be honest I don’t really listen to music in general because I just over analyze every note which is annoying when I’m trying to record or write.”

The 10 final tracks of Gold Control can be considered as the songs she is most proud of because it took an incredible amount of determination to complete them. After her computer permanently crashed before being able to record, destroying all her ideas for the album, she thought the whole year was cursed.

“2023 was a super rough year so I was happy to get this album out in spite of that,” she said. “I will say, it made me really grateful to have people who I could trust and depend on to help me get it done. There was a flood of shitty circumstances and it was a grind, but I realized who had my back, and coming through the other side made the album what it is so I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

JEEN admits that at one point she was convinced Gold Control would be her last album. Despite its challenges, she accomplished what she set out to do, and her perspective has changed.

“It [made] me realize how fleeting everything is,” she said. “I’m a pretty neurotic person so I found recording this album, writing it and making music in general has been the only thing that really keeps me together.”

Gold Control has a bit more blood, sweat and tears than usual, but that is what makes it all the more paramount. JEEN hopes that listeners can find a relatable message within these 10 tracks because that is her main objective. Reaching an audience on any level and finding common ground with them is what she does best, and this album is no exception.