Almost five years ago, teenage sensation Jenna Raine released her hit track "see you later (ten years)," a song that now has reached over 160 million streams on Spotify as of the writing of this review. Despite the streams counting up, Raine had yet to release any full-length project until last month when she put out her debut album, Jeans, Boys, and Jesus. Even though "see you later" is the song someone most likely would know, Raine's new record contains material that, in this reviewer's opinion, surpasses the quality of her viral hit.

I should acknowledge before going any farther that this album certainly leans into "boys" the most of the three words in the album's title. She writes from the perspective of a girl navigating all of the ups and downs that come with dating, and depending on the listener, one could try to dismiss this record off the bat knowing that is the case. I nearly did so myself. Raine may not offer the deepest, most insightful lyrics throughout the entirety of this album, but she does not aim for that on each and every song. She has, however, crafted a collection of groovy, toe-tapping, slightly country influenced pop tunes with a few stripped down acoustic reflections mixed in. Pop songs can find the pitfall of sounding too similar, but Raine has crafted an album with catchy song after catchy song, each unique and different from the rest. "Talk of the Town," the title track, and especially "Guilty as Charged" and "What He's Not," highlight the upbeat, feel good nature of the songs present, and the energy remains high for the entire first half of the album.

That being said, Raine does not forget about the fact she put Jesus in the title of the record and offers some slower, spiritually reflective songs later in the record. "God Made Him," even though still discussing a relationship, presents a conversation the young star has with her parents as she prepares to get married, reassuring them in the midst of the upcoming transition: "God made him with a heart that loves to love me / Keeps mine safe and sound / ... / God listened to the prayers that you prayed / And gave him everything / God made him made for me." She acknowledges the blessings of her life in "Used To Pray," realizing that God has provided for her beyond her wildest dreams: "When I can't think straight / Too much on my plate / I gotta tell myself / That I used to pray for these days / I got a job and some bills to pay / Got a boy who loves to say my name / Got to go 'cause I'm running late / I used to pray for these days." The most spiritual moment comes on "What Would I Say?" in Raine pondering what it would be like to encounter Jesus in the flesh and how she would struggle to find the words of gratitude to share with Him. She sings, "If You walked into this room / If You opened that door / Words would fall short / 'Cause how could I ever thank You?" The song served as the album's lead single for good reason and certainly stands out, especially as a more musically raw and intimate moment than many of the other tracks.

While not a completely accurate delineation, Raine mainly focuses on relationships for side A of the record and saves most of the faith focused songs for side B, so fans may gravitate towards one portion or the other depending on their preferences. Some may find it frustrating that she waits until later in the track listing to surface her faith more prominently, but the album would lose its natural flow to put a song like "What Would I Say?" amongst the earlier tracks. If the track order contains a flaw, it comes from "So Far, So Good" closing out the album. The final selection does not do much to wrap up the album and makes the thought "I guess that was the end" arise once the song ends, but of all the quibbles to have, this is more of a slight bummer than a real miss.

As someone who does not gravitate towards this type of an album on paper, I did not expect to find myself coming back to these twelve tracks with the frequency that I have. Despite some pretty minor critiques, Raine's debut has won over this reviewer and is bound to land well with other listeners too. With Raine recently getting engaged, I am curious to see how her new stage of life will impact the lyrics on her eventual follow up, but whatever it entails, I eagerly await what comes next.

- Review date: 9/12/26, written by Noah Schmidt of Jesusfreakhideout.com