Bleachers - Bleachers

Jack Antonoff was left alone to create an album for himself - it turned out controversial.

I have this unspoken rule - when, while listening to a record, you start to think that it is trying very hard to be and seem like something, then this automatically means that the presentation did not work out. The magic of history and music does not pull you inside, but only makes you ask silent questions, even if the final result brings results that are quite pleasing to the ear. This is roughly the situation with this album.

Antonoff presented a pretentious mixture of indie rock and pop, seasoning it with cinematic brass instruments and slightly inflating thematic developments. Even though a person’s story quickly develops from bright and “young” moments into something dark and melancholic, as if showing us the stages of growing up and losing oneself, it develops rather unevenly. Looks good on paper, not so much in the ears. We have already heard much of what is on the “Bleachers” album in his other works, and I have no complaints about Antonoff’s sound, even if in places it sounds familiar. It's still good. That being said, lyrically the album can be summed up with a funny example using his famous friend - imagine if during the Eras Tour Taylor Swift was diving after "My Tears Ricochet" and the hole in the stage didn't open. I think additional comments are unnecessary.

Perhaps this will work if you want to take a picturesque walk in the park and feel like a “great sufferer,” but there are a dozen better options popping into head as a replacement. Jack - thanks for trying, let's try again sometime later.

6.0/10