Three years after the release of Bleachers first album, Strange Desire, Jack Antonoff comes back with, Gone Now. During that three year break, Antonoff has helped write and produce a slew of songs and albums with artists like: Lorde, Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen, Sia, Troye Sivan and Grimes; just to name a few. The fun. guitarist showed off his music chops on his first album, which was one of my favorites from 2014. The songs that were dropped leading up to this release had me ecstatic. Ecstatic to the point where I believed this could be one of the best records of 2017. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this sadly not one of the best albums of this year, that being said, it is still an enjoyable album.
Gone Now, is an introspective album that revolves around change, death, relationships and nostalgia. Jack finally moved out of his parents house in New Jersey and built a studio in his Brooklyn apartment. This was a big step in Antonoff’s life. He had written and created most of his music in his childhood room. The theme of having to move on and essentially “grow up” is something that is ingrained in this album. “I’m Ready To Move on/Mickey Mantle” and “I Miss Those Days” touch on this subject lightly.
“I Miss Those Days” may be my favorite track on the album. The music fills the air with bells and horns; it paints an image of Jack walking down the street with a full-blown marching band behind him. The song reminisces on Jack’s youth, mentioning his early touring years as a teenager and moments with his late sister. This is a track anyone can relate to. We all miss our youth at times, the naivety of it, the world was a big place, we too were lost, just as Jack was, but it was all ours.
“I Hate That You Know Me” is another standout on the album. It’s simple, well written and straight to the point. Being predictable isn’t fun, who desires that quality? When it comes down to it everyone is predictable to those they are close to. We all know the feeling when that person you care about knows exactly what you’re going to say next, it is beyond aggravating. This song encapsulates that feeling so well. The track also features Carly Rae Jepsen in the chorus, so of course I love it.
The entire record is (for the most part) produced beautifully. Antonoff comes back again with another grand, 80s-inspired pop record. The amount of percussion, strings, horns, synths -you name it- that are on this album is astounding. If there’s one thing that you can say about Antonoff is he understands music, specifically how to create a great pop tune.
I enjoy this record a little more everytime I listen to it, but that doesn’t excuse it from being a little bit of a mess. I’ve always loved Antonoff’s sporadic and unorthodox production style, but at times it becomes a bit tedious. For example, if you thought the woman that said “I want to be grateful” a thousand times on the first record is gone, think again. She’s back and somehow shows up on more songs, with longer parts. Antonoff’s girlfriend, Lena Dunham also shows up on a few tracks with background dialogue. The latter I don’t mind as much as it adds a bit more of context and emotional depth onto the song; These are a couple of examples showing how Antonoff got so close but instead added vocal samples that irritate and distract you from the track. There are a few too many repetitive lines sprinkled throughout the album. Now, it’s not Logic corny, but it comes close.
Gone Now, was a project I was anticipating a little too much and ended up paying the price for it. It sounds great and had a handful of standout tracks, but it lacks overall cohesiveness and maybe a little too much cohesiveness regarding repetitive lines in songs in which they don’t belong. In no way should this be considered a sophomore slump, it was just Jack almost hitting the mark on a fantastic record, but falling just a bit short. All that being said I still enjoy this album very much, but it wasn’t what I was expecting from Antonoff.
Zach Shappley
Bad Luck to Talk 