The map of the Arab diaspora spreads far and wide, and since the 2010s a handful of cities have made a mark as crucial creative hubs. From Cairo to Beirut, Berlin to Montreal, artists in a digitally interconnected alternative scene have navigated virtual platforms and complex visa requirements to spark collaborations, work on albums, and set up residencies and tour dates.
Of course, it’s worth paying attention to the smaller locales on this map, too, and among them is the American suburb of Asbury Park, New Jersey. Nestled along the Jersey Shore, this beachfront city of 15,000 has been a stomping grounds for an impressive number of rock ’n’ roll legends – including Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen, who named his 1973 debut album after Asbury Park.
Today the city’s thriving music scene includes a formidable local named Sara Abdelbarry, the Egyptian-American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who fronts the indie rock band Teen Idle.
Teen Idle made a splash both locally and in the Arab region with the 2023 release of Nonfiction, a promising if slightly uneven debut album full of tasty guitar riffs and plaintive, confessional hooks. Now, Abdelbarry is back with a catchier, sharper, and more melancholic second album, A Heart So Tender.
Even more so than on Nonfiction, A Heart So Tender’s 10 tracks are steeped as much in the warmth of Fleetwood Mac as the crunch of ’90s alt-rock. But she also expands outwards into new sounds and styles, while using her lyrics to explore a mix of indelible imagery.
Abdelbarry plays the instruments herself, and she adds in a bit of country twang onto “California Cowboy,” a dreamy slow burner that provides a showcase for her ineffably singular voice – a deep and plaintive croon that sounds vulnerable but confident when she sings memorable lines like, “If we play a game of poker / I might just smoke ya.”
Teen Idle doesn’t always quite nail it on A Heart So Tender: With her voice slathered in fuzz and overdrive, opener “Vampires” sounds a bit jumbled, while the swaying ’50s-style doo-wop of “Infinite Sea” could stand to be a few notches more wistful. Still, nowhere are Abdelbarry’s Egyptian roots more clear than in the deeply-felt way she sings, and the album’s best moments capture a pure, shattering magic.
That’s certainly the case on “Green Eyes,” a spare but sparkling acoustic number with lyrics that draw out the ache of romantic longing in a way that a century-old crooner like Saleh Abdel Hay would have appreciated: “Sometimes I cry myself to sleep / To photographs of her.”
On that track, and then again in the jangly riffs and stunning builds of follower “The Sound,” Abdelbarry draws out her melodies in a precise and steady way, holding the notes for extended stretches. She sounds completely in control, but then you’ll hear a faint crack in her voice, or a bit of airiness as she reaches for a high note. She’ll bend a note, like you would with a whammy bar on a guitar, or her voice will shake just a little, right as the chorus grows into a massive crescendo. These small, raw expressions add up to make for potent vocal performances, lending emotional power to her songwriting.
Although Abdelbarry hasn’t played live in the MENA region, a quarantine-themed compilation she put together in 2020 helped her forge connections with a number of Egyptian artists, including her friends 200 Shams and Dirty Backseat. And Teen Idle builds a stronger bridge on “Premonitions,” A Heart So Tender’s haunting final track. Over a trance-like spiral of simple melodic phrasings performed on oud by Saied Silbak and Aly Eissa, Abdelbarry lets out mournful howls and builds herself up to overcome an inner turmoil: “So listen, tough guy / If fear runs your life / Just say these five words / ‘What am I scared for?’”
Her hesitation stems from her Egyptian heritage and position in the diaspora, Abdelbarry says. “Naturally, being an Arab-American means I’m consistently being pushed and pulled between two cultures: when I visit Egypt I feel too American, and when I’m in the US, I feel like an outsider in some ways,” the songwriter explains in an email with Rolling Stone MENA. “I really respect how artists from different diasporas blend elements of their heritage in their music, and I wanted to someday incorporate elements of Arabic music into my songwriting, but I almost didn’t feel like I had the tools or vocabulary to do that until now. It feels like a lifelong thing that I’ve been studying.”
It’s clear that Teen Idle has nothing to worry about. So many artists are doing their best in highly imperfect situations these days, and A Heart So Tender shows Abdelbarry beautifully navigating personal feelings and cracks of pain to make a place for herself in the world.
