Bleachers - Indie Exclusive (Blue Vinyl)

There’s a rich depth to the band’s sound on ‘Bleachers’ laid out in bright, soulful technicolour. The album is frontman Antonoff’s dis­tinctly New Jersey take on the bizarre sensory contradictions of modern life, on his position in culture, and the things he cares about. Sonically, it’s sad, it’s joyful, it’s music for driving on the highway to, for crying to and for dancing to at weddings. There’s something reassuringly touchable and concrete about its sentiment: exist in crazy times but remember what counts.

Releasing their debut album ‘Strange Desire’ in 2014, the band have built a huge, passionate following across three studio albums, becoming renowned for their impressive live show and infectious camaraderie. The band’s last album, ‘Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night’ took them to new heights, showcasing Antonoff’s im­mersive songwriting and, as Variety testified, his innate skill at “supersizing personal stories into larger-than-life pop anthems”.

Both with Bleachers and as a songwriter and producer, Antonoff, who, in 2021, was credited by the BBC for having “redefined pop music”, has collaborated with the likes of Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, The 1975, Diana Ross, Lorde, St. Vincent, Florence + The Machine, Kevin Abstract and many more.