''Taste of Me'' is the debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by Australian

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

duo

Teenage Joans Teenage Joans are an Australian indie rock duo from Adelaide, South Australia, who formed in 2018. The duo consists of vocalist and drummer Tahlia Borg and vocalist and guitarist Cahli Blakers. The duo rose to prominence with their debut singl ...

, released independently on 28 May 2021. The EP was solely written and recorded by members Tahlia Borg and Cahli Blakers, with production handled by Jarred Nettle. Preceded by three singles—"Something About Being Sixteen", "Ice Cream", and "Wine"—''Taste of Me'' received critical acclaim, and was the recipient of Best Release at the 2021

South Australian Music Awards The South Australian Music Awards, also known as SA Music Awards, commonly SAM Awards, formerly Fowler's Live Music Awards (FLMA), are annual awards that exist to recognise, promote and celebrate excellence in the South Australian contemporary mu ...

Background

''Taste of Me'' is the duo's first new music since the single "Three Leaf Clover" in 2020, which was the winning track in the 2020 Triple J Unearthed High competition, and ranked at number 87 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2020. The EP also follows an extensive round of touring for the duo.

Composition

"Ice Cream" is a "delectable hit of fun

alt-rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

", which showcases "the girls' dynamism at its strength", whilst "Something About Being Sixteen" is a "a

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...

anthem" with "big

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

s and even bigger personality".

Release

On 26 March, ''Taste of Me'' was announced, alongside the release of second single "Ice Cream". On 30 March, the duo revealed the EP's tracklist and artwork on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. On 28 May 2021, ''Taste of Me'' was

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

ly released, on digital download and

streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

formats. On 27 July, ''Taste of Me'' received a vinyl release.

Singles

"Something About Being Sixteen" was released on 15 January 2021 as the lead single. "Ice Cream" was released on 26 March 2021 as the second single. "Wine" was released on 27 May 2021 as the third and final single.

Live performances and tour

On 27 March 2019, the duo appeared on 101.5 FM

Radio Adelaide Radio Adelaide (call sign: 5UV) is Australia's first community radio station. The signal reaches across the Adelaide metropolitan area to the Mid North, the Yorke Peninsula and Fleurieu Peninsula, the southern Barossa, Kangaroo Island, Riverl ...

's ''Breakfast'' program with Zoe Kounadis and Tom Mann, debuting an unreleased song titled "Therapist" and discussing their forthcoming releases. On 26 March, alongside the EP's announcement, the duo announced a headline tour with

the Chats The Chats are an Australian punk rock band that formed in 2016 in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. They describe their sound as "shed rock". The current band lineup is composed of guitarist Josh Hardy, drummer Matt Boggis, and bassist and vocali ...

. The tour includes dates in Byron Bay,

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

, and

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Critical reception

Dylan Marshall of '' The AU Review'' labelled ''Taste of Me'' "five tracks of undeniably fun and charismatic guitar hooks". He continued: "A sign of a good song is being able to enjoy it irrespective of your age or personal music preferences, and on ''Taste of Me'', these songs are in abundance." '' The Music''s Keira Leonard gave the EP a positive review, writing that it "contains all the perfect methods and madness of an Aussie indie release, while remaining unlike any band before them." She continued, saying: "their five-track debut certainly won't get tiring. It's angsty, wholesome, unified and so damn fun." Joe Dolan, another writer for ''The Music'', was also positive, calling the EP "incredible", stating it "offers a splendid sampler to the music of the group." Dolan added that "it's an all out, upbeat

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

release that is devoid of any implied immaturity by their age", and concluded by comparing the release favourably to that of Camp Cope and

Courtney Barnett Courtney Melba Barnett (born 3 November 1987) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Known for her deadpan singing style and witty, rambling lyrics, she attracted attention with the release of her debut EP ''I've Got a Friend Calle ...

. '' NME Australia'' journalist Alex Gallagher described the EP as "a thrilling formal introduction to their cathartic, bittersweet

pop-punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

", stating that " tmakes clear why Teenage Joans have resonated so strongly with their passionate community – and why they'll stick around."

Mid-year lists

''Taste of Me'' was listed on ''The Music'''s 'Top 25 Albums of 2022 (So Far)' list.

End-of-year lists

"Wine", the closing track of the EP, reached number 84 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2021.

Track listing

All tracks written by Tahlia Borg and Cahli Bakers, and produced by Jarred Nettle. # "Ice Cream" – 3:30 # "Apple Pie" – 3:17 # "Something About Being Sixteen" – 3:33 # "Therapist" – 3:22 # "Wine" – 4:09

Awards and nominations

South Australian Music Awards

! , - ! scope="row" rowspan="2", 2021 , ''Taste of Me'' , Best Release , , rowspan="2", , - , Samuel Graves and Eve Burner for ''Taste of Me'' , Best Cover Art ,

Personnel

Adapted from the EP's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

. Musicians * Tahlia Borg – vocals, writing, drums * Cahli Blakers – vocals, writing, guitar Technical * Jarred Nettle – producer Promotional * Eve Burner – artwork * Samuel Graves – photography