By: Grant Kelly, Contributor

[Dirty Hit; 2024]

Rating: 4/10

Key Tracks: “Modern Girl”, “Tiny Moves”, “Call Me After Midnight”

Bleachers is the self-titled fourth album from the project headed by singer and lauded pop songwriter Jack Antonoff, being released almost a decade since Bleachers’ debut in 2014. Antonoff’s work under the Bleachers name has always had an instantly recognizable sound, being heavily influenced by the sentimental arena rock of Bruce Springsteen, with an atmospheric, synth-laden sheen in line with moody 2010s alt-pop.

For the most part, Bleachers does away with the extravagant energy found in their most popular songs prior, instead choosing to highlight the more tender, introspective side of the band’s work. But while the album is still recognizably Bleachers in sound, the songs just seem to consistently fall short of expectations.

The bulk of the songs on the album all suffer from the same problem, which is that they feel like a draft of a song that was never actually finished. Songs like “I Am Right on Time” and “Me Before You” sound promising, but ultimately fail to develop into anything more exciting than they start with.

“Tiny Moves” and “Call Me After Midnight” are pretty catchy and feature some pleasant, upbeat instrumentals, but still feel dynamically stagnant and lifeless, despite centering around topics of love and nostalgia that Bleachers are well-acquainted with by this point.

“Modern Girl” is one of the only real highlights on the album, with classic Bleachers vocal harmonies and a blaring saxophone melody that develops into a roaring, infectious chorus. But for every moment the album really shines, there are about a dozen more that come across as half-baked. 

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After listening to Bleachers, I’m left wondering why they bothered making it a self-titled album; because, frankly, it’s probably the least inspired collection of songs they’ve released thus far, and I feel as though the band set expectations too high for it right out of the gate. It’s still a competently produced album, and you can definitely tell there’s some genuine emotion being expressed in the lyrics. However, Bleachers, as a whole, has trouble finding its footing. However, I do have hope that future music released under the project will have more care taken into songwriting and expanding their overall sound. 

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