RATING: 7/10
The singer, songwriter, and producer who never seems to sleep, Jack Anotoff, is back with his new project Take The Sadness Out of Saturday Night under his alias Bleachers.
It seems like this year Jack Antonoff has been busy producing for, checks notes, pretty much every single woman in the pop music industry right now. However, Antonoff is back with his own project Bleachers and its new album Take The Sadness Out of Saturday Night.
Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night appears to be Antonoff experimenting in ways that perhaps he is unable to when producing for others. The album can feel a little mismatched and clunky at points, but after the internet seemed to decide over the past few weeks that Antonoff makes the same music again and again, it's good to see Bleachers allowing him to try something different.
We see Bleachers collaborate with some hit names on the album, all of which are within the best songs on the album. 'Chinatown' with Bruce Springsteen was the lead single from the album and rightfully so, as it encompasses the joyish charm yet existential lyrics that Bleachers have become synonymous with. The song perfectly combines the experimental sounds and production with the old-school feel of Bruce Springsteen vocals and has the warmth of a song you'd find in an 80s coming-of-age film. The collaboration with Lana Del Rey, however, is much more lowkey with Del Rey's fading into the background of the melancholy track. But this works for the track, as that kind of sound is what we associate Lana Del Rey with and Antonoff knows this full well, as one of the main producers on her most recent albums.
At the heart of it, Take The Sadness Out of Saturday Night is an album for those longing to break out free from something, whether it be a relationship, a suffocating hometown (New Jersey, in Antonoff's case) or out of lockdown in the pandemic. Hidden under the patchwork production and anthemic builds are lyrics of yearning and wishing to be someone or somewhere else, which makes this album the most personal and honest Bleachers has ever released. Songs like 'How Dare You Want More' and closer 'What'd I Do With All This Faith?' tell the story of having bigger dreams than the current position you're in, which feels like the anthem of the Gen Z's and Millennials wanting more out of life.
Although the sound can feel mismatched, the consistency in the themes and messages of Take The Sadness Out of Saturday Night feel like the most cohesive Bleachers have ever been. We all know Antonoff is a talented producer, but it's nice to see him re-emphasising that he's much more of an all-rounder than just the guy who producers for your fave popstars. Antonoff's talents know no bounds, after the sheer amount of good music he's created in the last year, let's hope he gets a rest sometime soon.