Screenager makes music you can sing along to in your bedroom, on the nights when you need to forget about the state of the world and wallow inside yourself instead. But the movement of each song uplifts the energy and you can’t help but to smile, it’s the type of sadness we all need sometimes, the type of sadness that proves we’re alive. Bittersweet and raw and full of emotion— that’s screenager.
And that was tonight’s show— we were all singing along in our bedrooms together, relaxed and carefree, letting the angst out. Adri Madella embodied the indie rock vibes, hair hiding her face as she melted into the microphone. Her eyes were softly closed, heart pouring out into the crowd collected at her feet. In a blue haze, Adri stood out in a soft golden halo. She did not demand your attention. She instead invited you with a glance and a rare smile. This was someone you wanted to know, wanted to trust, wanted to love, and wanted to follow. Between songs, as they tuned, they kept a vamp of their last note playing, holding the suspense and filling the white space and keeping the energy alive.
This was my first time seeing screenager live after hearing about them non-stop from a few friends. Their setlist consisted of works from their most recent EP, Striker, featuring an iconic cover image of a soccer ball smashing Adri in the head. But I found myself most intrigued by a new piece that screenager shared, with the hook saying something like “there’s three of me in every city”. That sentiment followed me home as I passed at least three other girls wearing oversized jeans and a leather jacket who really like music. As I wander around this world as a woman and as an artist, creeping alongside me is the sense that I am perceived as replacable, as if I am defined by something external and superficial. Following up their debut EP, screenager’s new work is looking to be reflective of surviving in the music industry. I can’t wait to hear more.