Bleachers
Take The Sadness Out of Saturday Night
Taking a break from being the hot potato tossed around by female pop superstars like Taylor Swift, Lorde and Lana Del Rey as a superstar producer and collaborator. Jack Antonoff revives his solo project Bleachers and makes the best Jersey Shore Sound album since the Gaslight Anthem won me over in 2010 with American Slang.
I admit I wasn’t much of a Bleachers fan before this album. My heart always laid with Antonoff’s previous band fun. and their chart topping album Some Nights. I’ve been neglecting his other work holding out for a fun. reunion. For some reason I gave this album a little more attention than his previous two. I can now say I’m embarrassed of myself for waiting so long to really give Bleachers a try.
I’m kind of a sucker for the Jersey Shore sound and this one nailed it perfectly. Two minutes into the second track (Chinatown) Jack’s voice slowly fades to the king of Jersey Shore Bruce Springsteen like he is rising from underneath a stage in the middle of Asbury Park. That’s some real Jersey Shore flex and I love it. The rest of the album continues like a tribute to Bruce and the sound he perfected. 45 is the ultimate ode to Jersey and Jack sings about struggling to leave his hometown to advance his career and it makes this album that much more important.
I have since devoured the rest of the Bleachers catalogue and attended a live show. I must confess I am now a Bleachers fanatic and have no qualms with it.
Audio Allegro 