Jack Antonoff – ultra-talented producer for Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey and Sabrina Carpenter, as well as frontman of the thoroughly solid indie project Bleachers – is, at heart, one thing above all: a pop pig. Fortunately, he knows this better than anyone, so on the new album Everyone for Ten Minutes he usually sets unusual production decisions against the catchy melodies, making the whole thing feel slightly twisted – and thus providing a good counterweight to the shamelessly accessible pop aesthetic at the core of his work. The album title fits well, then: Antonoff and co really do stay with one thing for only a few seconds here, constantly jumping around. On »The Van«, they experiment with sample techniques from hip-hop; on »We Should Talk«, the band combines Auto-Tune with sentimental synth-pop à la New Order; in the fantastic closer »Upstairs at Els«, Antonoff’s light-footed talk-singing recalls the grooviest moments in Paul Simon’s career – something Antonoff’s occasional collaborators The 1975 have also attempted, see »Wintering«.
What Bleachers most want, though, is to sound like Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s. And whenever they manage that, Everyone for Ten Minutes is at its strongest: then, an infectious band feeling and a dramatic energy emerge. For instance at the end of »You and Forever«, a declaration of love to Antonoff’s movie-star wife Margaret Qualley.iker…
