After quietly teasing their return on social media earlier this week, Teenager—the cult indie-dance project of Nick Littlemore (PNAU, Empire of the Sun) and Ladyhawke—have made it official.
The pair have just released “A.A.”, a shimmering alt-pop cut that pairs introspective lyrics with soaring synths and cathartic hooks. It’s their first new music since 2006’s Thirteen, and the first taste of their forthcoming album Fourteen, due in 2025.
“We are all isolated, we are all dejected, but weirdly that’s what links us all,” Littlemore says of the track. “Connected by the universal suffering, everyone is touched by that and no one is spared.”
Dark in theme but uplifting in its delivery, “A.A.” reintroduces the sound that made Teenager a cult favourite in the mid-2000s: the fusion of raw electronic energy and post-punk attitude. But this time, it’s filtered through nearly 20 years of artistic evolution.
Teenager originally formed in 2004, when Littlemore, already deep into his PNAU journey, teamed up with then-rising Kiwi guitarist Pip Brown. Not long after, Brown would reinvent herself as Ladyhawke and go on to deliver era-defining tracks like “My Delirium” and “Paris Is Burning”. Meanwhile, Littlemore doubled down on his role as one of Australian music’s most visionary figures, going on to launch Empire of the Sun with Luke Steele and producing for artists including Elton John, Dua Lipa, and Troye Sivan.
Back then, Thirteen was a chaotic and genre-bending debut recorded across studios in Sydney, London, New York, Paris and LA, bolstered by features from members of Sonic Youth, The Presets, and The Birthday Party. Its singles—particularly “Pony” and “Bound and Gagged”—made waves in indie scenes from Australia to the UK and US, cementing the band’s cult status. But by 2007, Teenager was shelved, a casualty of the explosive solo successes of its two founding members.
Still, the creative spark never fully went out.
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In the years since, Littlemore and Ladyhawke continued to write and record together between tours, album cycles, and continents: a slow burn of collaboration that has finally culminated in Fourteen. The upcoming release promises a dynamic and spontaneous collection that honours the band’s DIY roots while drawing on decades of experience and reinvention.
