JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
If you happen to know who Jack Antonoff is, it might be because he's produced albums for stars like Taylor Swift, Lorde and Lana Del Rey. But the Grammy Award-winning producer also creates fantastic pop hooks for his own band, Bleachers, which has a new album out today. It's called "Everyone For Ten Minutes."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SIDEWAYS")
BLEACHERS: (Singing) Shouted, hello, bastards, as we left our ancestors.
SUMMERS: Here to tell us about it is Aurora McGuckin from MVY Radio in Massachusetts. Hi there.
AURORA MCGUCKIN: Hi. Thanks for having me.
SUMMERS: Thanks for being here. OK, so for people who are not yet familiar with Jack Antonoff's work in Bleachers, what can you tell us?
MCGUCKIN: Well, Bleachers is a pop band with rock 'n' roll influences. It's led by Jack Antonoff. It's been around for more than a decade. What Bleachers does feels very separate from what Jack Antonoff does for his other collaborators, like when he writes with Taylor Swift or Lorde or Sabrina Carpenter. It seems like Bleachers is a place where he makes music that is just for him and for the people that have been along for the ride with him the whole time.
"Everyone For Ten Minutes" is their fifth studio album. And on this one, I hear a lot of reflection and a lot of longing for connection. Like, on the song "The Van," Antonoff is reminiscing about his early days of making music and touring as a teen in New Jersey and how, as he keeps repeating, he just didn't want to be lonely.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE VAN")
BLEACHERS: (Singing) Pulled into a Wawa in Philly in 2000, Blue Magic coming from the speaker at the gas pump. All Jersey kids, we never learned to pump gas, so we sat there with the soundtrack.
SUMMERS: So I have to say, this is a band that's new to me, so for people who don't know it as well, how would you describe their sound?
MCGUCKIN: I guess I would describe them as sort of emulating those big stadium rock acts of the '80s but also really leaning into, like, pop and indie rock and sort of holding back a little bit. You know, they're at a distance from that stadium sound that they do bring to their live shows. And on this album, they're playing around a little. They're a little experimental. Things feel a little bit softer and a little bit dreamier.
SUMMERS: And I've also heard there are a bunch of love songs on this album. Tell us more about those.
MCGUCKIN: Yeah, the love songs really stand out here. So Jack Antonoff is married to actress Margaret Qualley, and she stars in the music video for the song "You And Forever" off the album. And he's singing about these really specific relationship moments and details, but I think it's that specificity that listeners are going to really connect with. Take a song like "Dirty Wedding Dress," where he sings about the moments where he realized that she was the one and about their wedding day.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DIRTY WEDDING DRESS")
BLEACHERS: (Singing) The dirty wedding dress is a promise. I knew it that night at the shore. And I knew it that night on the rooftop. I knew that she was from before.
SUMMERS: All right, so, Aurora, I do have to ask you, do you have a favorite song on this album that we should go out on?
MCGUCKIN: I think it has to be "I'm Not Joking" because that one incorporates a lot of the elements that I love in classic '60s pop songs - just unabashedly romantic lyrics, some oohs and ahs and sha-la-las and a little harpsichord for good measure.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M NOT JOKING")
BLEACHERS: (Singing) And I'm not the type to ask you about the ones who came before me, baby. I'm just glad you're mine and only, baby. And I'll hold every door for your love. Like, ooh, I'm not joking, it was love at first sight.
SUMMERS: That was Aurora McGuckin from MVY Radio in Massachusetts telling us about the new Bleachers album. It's out today. You can hear about more great new releases on today's episode of New Music Friday from NPR Music. Aurora, thanks so much.
MCGUCKIN: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M NOT JOKING")
BLEACHERS: (Singing) Sha-la-la. Good lord, I found you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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