I Had the Strangest Desire to Rank “Strange Desire”

I would consider myself a casual fan of Bleachers for several reasons.

1. I had no idea for the longest time if Bleachers was just Jack Antonoff or a several-person band. Correct me if I’m wrong, but for all intents and purposes, it’s just Antonoff (right?).
2. I had never listened to a full album from Bleachers before this article.
3. I had only heard the singles from the two albums that I knew of (“Strange Desire” and “Gone Now”).

However, I knew I was a fan of Jack Antonoff in the role of collaborator, producer, and songwriter. His name has been in the credits of some of the best music titles within this past year, including one of my all-time favorite albums, Taylor Swift’s “Folklore.” I just knew that this new adventure was calling me: if you like the stream, go straight to the source. So, without further adieu, watch me dive into the Antonoffian Wonderland of “Strange Desire” (my review of “Gone Now” will be published eventually, so keep an eye out!).

***Disclaimer! My listening experience is different to yours, we both know that. However, I have a disorder called synesthesia in which my senses are crossed and connected. This results in sounds (especially music!) triggering colors, textures, smells, tastes, and feelings for me. This obviously changes my experience from a person without synesthesia, and has an active effect in my enjoyment of any and all music. So though it may not have a hand in your favorite or least favorite songs, it certainly dictates a portion of my own opinions. Carry on!***

*S-TIER*

• WILD HEART

This is one of the only songs I knew well before going into the whole album, and after listening back, it only solidified its spot as my favorite song. “Wild Heart” describes basking in the possibilities laying in front of you after realizing that you’ve found a journey worth traveling within the love of another person, with a game sitting in the future to chase that’s screaming that there’s more to come. The lyrics promise the potential to grow alongside another person while moving on from the side of yourself you’re looking to evade in the wake of lost love. The promise of improvement becomes constant, and its grounding nature collapses into volatile tunnel vision. 

Antonoff has a chokehold on my synesthesia, and this song is one of the best examples. “Wild Heart” glitters and tastes like Jolly Ranchers, however there is significantly less sugar and is similar to unsweetened apple juice with a bite of bitterness. Shining purples, reds, and pinks shimmer throughout the hesitant and sweet synths, and ultimately, it’s a gorgeous candyland.

• WAKE ME

“Wake Me” features some of my favorite vocal work from Jack Antonoff throughout this album, as well as extremely effective and well-placed layering in relation to the shimmering production. With the anaphoric and repetitive lyrics taking a backseat, their simplicity solidifies an atmosphere of vulnerable dependence and a growing romance. This is such a genuine and romantically-produced song, and its firefly-like production results in the feeling of slow-dancing alone under a spinning disco ball.

I love the colors of this song, with a slowly stirring pot of paints in shades of muddy reds, warm browns, soft pinks and yellows, and fruity purples. “Wake Me” maintains a taste of sweet raspberry lemonades, and establishes itself as one of the most beautifully imagery-heavy tracks on the album.

• LIKE A RIVER RUNS

This song delivers a sweet message of people changing others for life with their flow always returning back to the original direction of the stream, and is a kind track with techno production elements that fit the song’s pacing. The pacing itself, in fact follows a stable rhythm comparable to the steady rush of a river and therefore making it a song to groove to in summer air and sunglasses. Similar to a river bank, this song flashes greens, translucent blues, yellows, and browns.

• I WANNA GET BETTER

I am a massive fan of the signature Antonoff vocal layering within his performance of this song, as I believe it emphasizes his lyrics that he pushes forward by choice in order to more clearly communicate his willingness to improve (and it also sounds good, what can I say?). Throughout the song, the layers dissolve into distortion that does not fall victim to garish production, but sucks you into the unhesitating current of the backing track. As a master of vocal inflections and dynamics, Antonoff makes this song more fun to sing along to as well as more emotive. Not to mention, I love the teasingly cheeky guitar solo that quiets during the bridge, only to explode into more promises of future promises. 

“I Wanna Get Better” has a metallic taste, mixing rough patches of flashy greens, bright purples, and bold yellows with a terry cloth-type texture.

*A-TIER*

• I’M READY TO MOVE ON / WILD HEART REPRISE (FEAT. YOKO ONO)

With an indication of learning from your mistakes, the lyrics portray the narrator learning that their actions have consequences— but no consequences will ever occur without actions. Appreciate the opportunities you have before they fly by, or you’ll blink and miss them! The production of this track builds high stakes with cinematic mixing resulting in the feeling that the listener is inside a tornado that builds from the ground up until it dissipates into a storm of lightning— a climax of his emotions towards this seeming manic pixie dream figure that embodies each song. 

This track is unique in its colors, appearing as shimmering waves of heat colored in shades of sunset, where yellows, deep and pinkish purples, reds, and oranges illuminate my line of vision. Strangely enough, this song doesn’t taste like a sunset at all, but like limeade!

• ROLLERCOASTER

I don’t have too much to say about this song. The lyrics are pretty straight forward, the guitar work in this song is interesting, the production and mixing on the synths are killer, and the production ultimately takes the helm as the star of the track. It’s something fun and summery for the kids.

The taste and colors are just as summery, as it’s reminiscent of strawberry kiwi and is filled with feathery yellows, pinks, sky blue, reds, and oranges. The resulting texture looks a bit like light flashing through those plastic bingo chips teachers used to give kids in school.

*B-TIER*

• WHO I WANT YOU TO LOVE

This song feels less like an outro or finale and more like a farewell, which is one of my favorite ways to end an album. With the lyrics revealing that ends of relationships reveal all qualms, Antonoff states that love doesn’t always extend to the innermost parts of yourself at the expense of your dreams; sometimes we don’t have control over who we love and when. As far as the backing track goes, the most notable thing is that there’s a bass riff (I’m sure the bassist shit themselves at that call, solos are hard to come by) and the string work throughout the song in general is fantastic.

This song is filled with muddy reds and oranges, mixed with some light brown undertones. “Who I Want You to Love” has the strangest taste on the album, as it tastes predominantly like lemon chicken (I’ve never had a song taste anything like that in my life?!).

*C-TIER*

• YOU’RE STILL A MYSTERY

This song is fun, boppy, and feels like it would be at the end of a teen movie right before the credits. Lyrically, it’s as straightforward as “Rollercoaster,” and while I like this song, I just don’t like it as much as the other songs on the album. 

It’s got a groovy late 90’s vibe with oranges, aquas, and purples. It feels a bit like mesh, and it tastes like sour candy.

• RECKLESS LOVE

I like the guitar work of this song, but it’s just not my favorite. It has a pretty good melancholy atmosphere, but I’m not a big fan of the chord progression as it feels slightly contrived. The layered vocals feel clashing with the tone of this song, and though I enjoy the lyrics of this song, I think they’re overshadowed by the boring chords.

This song features cyan, darker and warmer purples, and near-green blues with a scattered sandy texture. It smells like watered-down Bath and Body Works perfume.

• SHADOW

“Shadow” features a catchy guitar riff, but the shouty, layered backing vocals mixed with some of the excessive production effects makes the song feel kind of Christian Rock-ish.The bridge starts to get better, but it’s just kind of a boring song and the lyrics aren’t very redeemable. Overall, I’m just not that into it.

The percussion in “Shadow” leaves streaks of black and white over an orange and sky blue backdrop made of a grassy texture.

*D-TIER*

• TAKE ME AWAY (FEAT. GRIMES)

I don’t enjoy the whiny and melodramatic chords of this song, and Antonoff’s vocals definitely carry the weight of most of the track. I like the percussive tracks, but I can’t say I’m a fan of the synths and the production feels more choppy than intentional. It’s just not my vibe.

This song features silvery lines of tinsel stretched over wine reds, purples, and deep blues of trickling water over the edge of a filled cup.

***

“Strange Desire” is vulnerable, well-produced, and is a great precursor of evident skill that would manifest into a long and productive career. This album feels like a body of work by and for someone in their late-20’s, where he’s felt young love and is looking to depart while simultaneously validating his own wisdom. I enjoyed it, and even the tracks that weren’t my favorite are still music to my ears (ha ha). Stick around, as I will publish my ranking and review of Bleachers’ second studio album, “Gone Now” soon. Au revoir!

Bleachers’ music is readily available on all music streaming platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Music. You can find him on social media on Instagram and Twitter for his personal accounts and his Bleachers Instagram and Twitter.