Review: New Jerseyans Jack Antonoff and Bruce Springsteen unite in Bleachers first new music in three years. Watch the brilliant new video.
On Tuesday (17th November) Jack Antonoff's band Bleachers dropped new single 'Chinatown' with one very notable guest, Bruce Springsteen.
I'll be honest and admit I wasn't too familiar with Bleachers' work prior to this song but couldn't have asked for a better introduction! I was well aware of the name, instead knowing Jack Antonoff as the producer behind Lana Del Rey's brilliant 2019 album Norman F****** Rockwell! and - alongside The National's Aaron Dressner - Taylor Swift's lockdown array into indie folk, folklore.
Reading Bruce Springsteen's name in the 'featuring' part of any song is enough to instantly grab your attention and - being a fan of his work for many years - I was no different.
The song starts 30 seconds into the video (directed by Carlotta Kohl) as a car passes through a New York - New Jersey state line. As the vocals start, we're greeted with Jack's t-shirt message of "Welcome to New Jersey, now go home" and what follows is four minutes of warm nostalgia. You can check out the brilliant video below.
With its 80s Springsteen vibes, dreamy, lo-fi vocals and upbeat melody, you'll find yourself vibing to the song over and over. Springsteen joins us at 2.44 seconds and just the sight of him in the video alongside Jack feels like a celebration. Bruce repeats the earlier chorus of "But a girl like you/ could rip me out of my head", before a heartfelt "Cause I wanna find tomorrow / Yeah, I wanna find tomorrow".
Jack Antonoff promises to "take the sadness right out of our Saturday night" and right he does, it's just the vibe to close out 2020. It's the best song I've heard in a long time, even before the grand introduction of The Boss.
In a press release, Jack Antonoff went into a bit of detail about 'Chinatown' and another new song, '45':
“chinatown” starts in NYC and travels to new jersey. that pull back to the place i am from mixed with terror of falling in love again. having to show your cards to someone and the shock when you see them for yourself. thinking you know yourself and where you are from…. having to see yourself through somebody who you want to stay… i started to write this song with these ideas ringing in my head. to further understand who you are pushes you to further understand where you are from and what that looks and sounds like. there are pieces in that that are worth carrying forever and pieces worth letting die. “chinatown” and “45” are both the story of this—“chinatown” through someone else, “45” through the mirror. as for bruce, it’s the honor of a lifetime to be joined by him. he is the artist who showed me that the sound of the place i am from has value and that there is a spirit here that needs to be taken all over the world.
On Tuesday, Bleachers also released another song, '45', with the intent on releasing an album in 2021. If they can maintain the standard of 'Chinatown' then we'll be in for a treat.
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