JEEN Channels Resilience and Raw Honesty on New EP 'For The Romance,' Featuring Effervescent Title Track
• LISTEN TO + SHARE FOR THE ROMANCE HERE •
Prolific Toronto-based artist JEEN returns with her striking new EP For The Romance – a collection that captures both the exhaustion and exhilaration of perseverance. Across five songs, JEEN transforms frustration and uncertainty into catharsis, embracing vulnerability and creative defiance in equal measure. “These five songs surfaced after a very difficult period in my career where I wasn’t sure if I could keep going,” she says.
Working once again with long-time collaborator and producer Ian Blurton (Change of Heart, C’mon, Future Now), the For The Romance sessions took shape in early 2025, pairing the electricity of the studio with the intimacy of home demos. “Recording with Ian is always a great process, very grateful for that,” JEEN shares. “Under the harsher business circumstances around this release, adding two of my recent home recordings – including a solo live cover – just felt like the right combination.”
A record about persistence and the fleeting balance between hope and disillusionment, For The Romance showcases JEEN at her most honest and unguarded. “Perseverance,” she says simply, when asked about its central theme. “I’m just trying not to become too jaded or bitter in this industry. It’s a hard battle sometimes, but I’m still here.”
Listen to For the Romance in full HERE.
At the heart of the EP lies its title track – an anthemic, tongue-in-cheek reflection on resilience and the reason she continues to make music at all. “‘For The Romance’ is a reminder not to give up until you find what you’re looking for,” JEEN explains. “I wrote it at the end of my rope, trying to convince myself there’s still something worth fighting for.”
The song’s shimmering pulse and lyrical duality mirror the sentiment behind its title: “For The Romance” isn’t just a love song – it’s a tribute to the pursuit itself. “That phrase is kind of the gist of why I started making music in the first place,” she adds. “It’s about the never-ending hope there’s something more out there if you can keep looking.”
Hold out, hold on for something
Don’t cry though when you’re waving something goodbye, let it die
Baby not that know when it exploded
Right there in my hand if I hold it tight
I didn’t come in here to fight
For The Romance finds JEEN stepping out of the shadows with a collection that feels both bruised and beautifully alive. From the glittering disco lament of “Look What You Did” to the propulsive pop-rock of “Psychedelic Silver Lining,” JEEN’s signature blend of grit and melody shines through, reaffirming her place as one of Canada’s most quietly fearless songwriters.
“I had a series of existential crises trying to get this EP to the finish line, but I’m proud of the tracks that came out of it,” she says. “I decided a long time ago this is the only way I can live if I’m going to be real with myself.”
Across eight solo releases and countless sessions, JEEN’s songs have remained an act of survival – raw, reflective, and defiantly human. “Making music is like breathing for me,” she says. “I’m always trying to write something better than I did before, something that I don’t think sucks.”
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