The American rock band Bleachers released its fourth studio album March 8. The self-titled project was produced under Bleachers Band Recordings and Dirty Hit Records after the group departed from its former label, RCA Records, last August.
On this album, Grammy Award-winning producer Jack Antonoff produced heavily inspired, unpromising tracks that roll together as one.
The album contains heavy inspiration from past collaborators of Antonoff, such as The National, Bruce Springsteen and The 1975. Similar aspects have been emulated in other works by the Bleachers, so this album feels more like a continuation of their usual sound rather than something entirely transformative.
The album's opener, "I Am Right On Time," highlights The National-inspired sound with its baritone vocals, punctuated guitar and percussion backing. The earlier-released single "Modern Girl" showed potential with its strong Springsteen and Billy Joel qualities. As the album's clear standout track, it contains the most rock ‘n’ roll elements.
It has undeniable sing-along qualities, with a saxophone draw-in and "Dancing In the Dark" evocative chorus. It's followed by an infectious bridge of "Ohs" that demand a crowd. As the most upbeat track on the album, the song fittingly describes an ideal Friday night out.
It would not be a Bleachers album without the saxophone, which goes back to Antonoff's admiration of Springsteen. From upbeat to melancholic songs, Antonoff always knows how to use the woodwind instrument to his advantage.
The track "Me Before You" is reminiscent of Springsteen's "Secret Garden." It also resembles another Antonoff-produced track, "About You," by The 1975, with its similar saxophone backing.
"Call Me After Midnight" could easily be a lost track from The 1975's latest album. It's a soulful R&B track with a generous climax of Antonoff repeating, "They don't want you, they want your faith."
Another consistent feature of the album is autotune. Side B's "We're Gonna Know Each Other Forever" utilizes it the most, but the use narrowly crosses the line, making the song clunky.
"Alma Mater," which features frequent collaborator Lana Del Rey, was also released as an early single. Rey opens the track with, "Maybe you'd like some of Jack's newer stuff." With the uncertain "maybe," the statement is profoundly astute to one's judgment about the album.
"Alma Mater" has a romantic nature and a steady pop culture tone. It romanticizes a significant other as a hometown, or for Antonoff, New Jersey. Other love-related songs on the album consist of "Isimo" and "Ordinary Heaven."
Track three, "Jesus Is Dead," invokes themes of faith and religious uncertainty. The first verse opens with, "Each night I pray that I'll meet God / Under the worry of my thoughts."
"Woke Up Today" focuses on Antonoff's journey through faith, specifically during a period of dealing with a loss. It's personal to Antonoff, having lost his younger sister to brain cancer. This moving anecdote is portrayed heavily throughout other Bleachers albums, too. The song starts with "Woke up today and I knew God," but then ends with "Woke up today and I lost God."
Other than faith, Antonoff persistently makes the same references in many of his songs, which serve redundancy. Several lyrics consist of metaphors about "wires" or "mirrors," both of which typically symbolize risk and self-reflection. Both are even used together in a chorus, written, "The tired on a wire / The born, strange, desired / The angel in the mirror."
While the metaphorical lyrics help convey necessary meaning for numerous tracks, other lyrics are concerningly questionable to the listener. For instance, within Antonoff's many pop culture references, he decides to rhyme "The day that Kobe fell from the sky" with "The day Kendall Pepsi-smiled" in "Self Respect."
With a clear, soft rock ’n’ roll admiration, Bleachers' self-titled album is somewhat coherent, with a theme of self-redeeming faith and dedication to love. Beyond that, the album lacks individuality and audible excitement. It is less rock and more roll, as the songs distinctly roll through one another without any break during their run.
