New Music Friday – March 8, 2024

March 8, 2024 Ben Pagani

We’re taking the sadness out of New Music Friday. Let’s cut straight to the chase.

The Best of New Music Friday:

Bleachers – Bleachers

Ten years and four albums on, Bleachers are still putting out well-mixed alt-pop songs. They move through subtle string arrangements and the sax solos still fly. Bleachers continue answering the rhetorical ask, “What would the E Street Band sound like in 2024?” There are plenty of “Sha-la-la-la’s” and “Woos!” The big switch-up that makes Bleachers’ self-titled album a unique listen comes through its lyrical material.

Frontman and three-time Grammy-award-winning producer Jack Antonoff’s major lyrical themes have largely zoomed in on his life’s greatest tragedy: His little sister died from brain cancer at 13 years old. It’s a sad reality, one that has shaped Antonoff’s solo discography for a decade. That isn’t the case here. Now married, wiser and longing for an East Coast that only exists in the past, Bleachers are late 30-somethings on the cusp of their new major life shakeups.

Antonoff is now spending time reminiscing about DFA Records. He still expects the modern girls will shake their asses tonight (or something). The A-side of Bleachers is filled with single-type tracks broaching all these topics.

Another evolution on Bleachers is shown through who lends helping hands to Antonoff and company. Kevin Abstract sits down in the producer chair, and so does Bartees Strange, Florence Welch, Lana Del Rey and Kendrick Lamar’s longtime beatmaker, Sounwave. Previously, Antonoff only orchestrated Bleachers records by himself or with the help of some lifelong ‘behind-the-scenes-and-in-the-studio’-types. The only other major charting songwriter who contributed to producing a Bleachers album previously was Antonoff’s longtime collaborator Annie Clark, aka St. Vincent.

It feels like many of Antonoff’s contemporaries are past the most commercially triumphant parts of their careers, not to say they’re past their primes. They certainly aren’t. Bleachers are leading the pack just by name, if not for Billboard appearances.

Now Bleachers are directing a celebratory fanfare and waltzing across the New York of now to a New Jersey of yesteryear. It wouldn’t be surprising if the fifth Bleachers album explores new musical themes instead of mostly lyrical ones. That album will come. For now, fans should enjoy this changing of the guard: Bleachers has the best of the group’s musical sound with glimpses of new material direction.

New Music Friday Top Picks:

Ariana Grande – Eternal Sunshine

Bolis Pupul – Letter to You

C Turtle – Expensive Thrills

The Jesus and Mary Chain – Glasgow Eyes

La Luz – “Strange World”

Maxband – “Lines”

O. – “Green Shirt”

Wand – “Help Desk”

Which of these tracks from New Music Friday will you be adding to your favorite playlists today? Any we missed? Let us know in the comments or on Instagram!

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Ben Pagani

Music Projects Manager at Beyond The Stage Magazine

Ben is a music journalist living and working in Chicago. They joined Beyond The Stage as an intern and have stayed on the staff for several years. Now serving on the editorial board, Ben is proud to be BTS' Music Projects Manager, coordinating coverage between international record labels and our staff. Ben has interviewed, photographed and written about bands from across the world. Ben has lived all over the United States working in television and media. They are an Emmy Award-winning writer. Ben can be found spinning records as 'DJ Wearing Sunglasses' in clubs and basements across the US.