BLEACHERS. Sorta sticks in your mind for some reason, doesn't it? Bleachers is the name of the musical projected created by the guitarist of the multi-platinum selling band, Fun. He does have a name though, Jack Antonoff. You might also know him for his band Steel Train, which had a few minor hits before disbanding a few years ago, around the same time that Fun really started having success.
Is the man a one band wonder? Or can he balance two? Antonoff seemed like he was up to tackling two after the release of the burst of sunlight and joy "I Wanna Get Better", which serves as the lead single to Strange Desire. I immediately fell for this song's blissful charms, which has enough angst and heart to win over new fans, as well as ones that may have followed over from Fun fandom.
Upon listening to this record, I find myself completely disenchanted with the direction of the majority of these tracks. Jack has made thrown his hat in the ring along with everyone else who seems to be following the trend of the 80's, but with even weaker results that you might imagine.
The music is a real downfall for the album, often meandering about aimlessly, as Antonoff sings repetitively about a girl with a wild heart that he's been chasing for what seems like forever. Seriously though! How many tracks reference this girl and her wild heart? This causes much of the record to feel very bland and tasteless lyrically for me, opting to run in circles rather than move forward into something halfway good.
There are plenty of connecting lyrical themes on the record, including the album opening and closing on the phrase "I really wanna be grateful", which gets particularly annoying on the album's closer "Who I Want You To Love".
It's really a shame for the latter track I just mentioned, as it actually shows some potential. It opens up with an acoustic guitar and a smooth indie feel, that mainly satisfies, but could definitely do without the minute and a half outro.
Before I get to the tracks that I really can't even tolerate, why don't I point out some of the highlights that are actually worth checking out? "Shadow" and "Rollercoaster" were both released as promo singles prior to the full length, with "Shadow" having a slight edge in terms of interesting material.
I think I like "Shadow" because it offers up something new and unique when compared to the rest of the LP. The vocals sound different once again, with Jack almost sounding like a plethora of different vocalists rather than just one. There's more of a gang styled vocal approach on this one though, with a quickly paced synth line backing this edgy cut.
Minus a few bright spots I've already mentioned, the rest of the record feels lackluster, and on occasion, downright awful. The album hits it's lowest of lows on the cut "Take Me Away" which features electronic musician Grimes. Auto-tune plagues and ruins and chance of decent vocals, simply for the fact that it's not used in a fun and playful way, but rather in a way that sounds like a discarded track from the latest Future album. SKIP!
Although not quite as bad, "Wake Me" still has a few elements that make me cringe. Lines like "I'd rather be sad with you than anywhere away from you" get repeated throughout the track and just irk me from a songwriting standpoint of view. The track feels passionless, especially in the vocal department. It sounds like it was written with Jack looking out the window on a rainy day, kind of murmuring his journal entries out loud as a guitar quietly shuffles in the background.
"I'm Ready To Move On/Wild Heart Reprise" makes random use of the one and only Yoko Ono, and it just sounds downright weird. I can't quite tell if I like this track or not. It sounds an awful lot like "Menswear" from The 1975's debut record, and that kind of intrigues me considering I loved that song.
There's a few that I'm pretty much indifferent on, "Reckless Love" and "You're Still a Mystery" for example. But I'm really just not enjoying this Bleachers record at all. Antonoff is clearly capable of so much more, just check out any of the Steel Train or Fun albums if you need proof. He's a talented guitarist that's trying his hand at something else, but it's really just not my cup of tea.
Let me know what you think of Strange Desire in the comments, or on my YouTube channel which is linked several places on the blog, you just have to find them. This is all just my opinion, so let me knows tastefully and respectfully below. Until next time music fans.
2/5
-Jon
Key Tracks: I Wanna Get Better, Shadow, Rollercoaster
Steer clear of: Take Me Away, Wake Me, Like a River Runs
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