Jeen O’Brien is a Canadian singer/songwriter and guitarist, who has written songs for a lengthy list of recording artists. As a solo artist, performing with the mononym Jeen, O’Brien has written songs used in ad campaigns for Google, Panasonic, Estée Lauder, Kraft, BlackBerry, KIA, Rogers, Mastercard and Molson, as well as TV shows like Republic of Doyle, Instant Star, Ruby Gloom, Degrassi, Hockey Wives, Killjoys, Workin’ Moms, Catfish, Are You the One and the major motion picture Cook Off. And in addition to her solo work, O’Brien is a member of Cookie Duster with Broken Social Scene‘s Brendan Canning. 

O’Brien’s newest full-length album, the Ian Blurton co-produced Dog Bite is slated for an October 22, 2021 release. Earlier this year, I wrote about “Better Drugs,” a grungy bit of power pop centered around crunchy guitars, O’Brien’s Liz Phair-like delivery and a rousingly anthemic hook.

While sonically brining 90s alt rock and 120 Minutes-era MTV to mind, the song as the Canadian artist explained that the song explored our desire to constantly seek something better. The song was directly influenced by the events of last year — both socially and personally: “I wrote ‘Better Drugs’ eight months after watching the world burn, with everything so exposed and gross,” O’Brien said in press notes. “Like we had all lost too many pieces of ourselves to put back together or something…I wondered how fundamental it was, like how broken are we, you know? On top of that, I had a very sudden death in the family 48 hours before we went into the studio to record.

“This kind of raw disconnect leads to all the problems especially if you’ve lost connection with yourself…so with all that fell away last year, I found myself pathetically grateful for the few people I still had around me.”

Dog Bite‘s latest single “Recklessly” is a shimmering bit of indie pop centered around angular guitars, glistening synths, enormous hooks, and a relentless disco influenced groove. Sonically, the slick produced “Recklessly” manages to hint at The Romantics “Talking In Your Sleep,” Only By The Night era Kings of Leon and DFA Records while evoking the dizzying sensation of uncertainty and stasis.

O’Brien explains that “Recklessly” was “written for when you can’t tell if you’re moving forward or falling behind and when it’s impossible to know where you’ll end up.”