My Top Ten: Bleachers

Bleachers are from New Jersey. They're the brainchild of guitarist and producer Jack Antanoff, who used to be in Fun. They have featured here before, but this is their latest single, and it's pretty damned good for a modern pop song... even though it does harken back to the 70s and 80s, like most of their stuff.

Thursday, 11 February 2021

2020 Latecomers: Bleachers

A few weeks back, the Algorithm decided I might like to listen to Bleachers. It wasn't a bad choice. For a computer that does my thinking for me.

Bleachers are a New Jersey band led by Jack Antonoff, formerly of Fun, a band I loved back in 2012 when their second album, Some Nights, was rarely off the CD player. (Ah, remember the good old days?) Being from New Jersey, they're obviously in thrall to that borough's most famous resident, and yes, they did get him to sing a verse on this, the first single (released late last year) from their forthcoming third album...

It's a good song, even more so because, despite the Boss's presence, it doesn't sound like a direct homage... unlike, say, the work of fellow New Jersey Bruce fans, The Gaslight Anthem. The fact that Antonoff claims to be influenced by the 80s teen movies of John Hughes makes me an even bigger fan.

And that's not all they've got for us either. Check out their next release, 45, and maybe you might get as excited about that forthcoming album as I am (though probably not - I accept, my passions are my own).