Jeff Rosenstock is a musician, producer and record label
owner known in the worldwide punk rock scene for his strong DIY values. One of
the New York natives former bands Bomb The Music Industry only ever released
their music on a pay what you want basis and that along with the ability to
write and perform wonderful songs and they gained an almost cult like following
of fans during their existence. BTMI played their final show in New York in
January 2014 and since that time Jeff, as well as producing The Smith Street
Bands amazing album Throw Me In The River has been working on a brand new solo
record named We Cool? I gave it a listen.
Before I heard any of the record I wasn’t really too sure
what to expect musically. Would it be a more stripped back acoustic record as
Jeff was going it alone or would it be a full band record like his previous
bands Bomb The Music Industry or The Arrogant Sons Of Bitches? After pressing
play on the opening song Get Old Forever I found out that it would be acoustic.
Then about one minute into the song I found out that I was wrong and that this
would be a full band punk rock party of an album. Get Old Forever is all about
the insecurities Jeff feels with getting older and how he feels that perhaps he
should be settling down with a steady job and have a family and not be spending
his time getting drunk at house shows. He soon comes to the conclusion that he’s
living a great life without having any regrets and he shouldn’t get hung up on
the things he won’t achieve. This is a really strong opening track for the
albums and really shows where Jeff is in his life at the moment. The second
song You, In Weird Cities is another song where Jeff questions his life. He
sings about missing his music friends and how they are placed all over the
world. There’s a nice reference to Chris and Fitzy from The Smith Street Band
amongst some others. He gets over missing his friends by listening to their
records and it feeling like they are together. The vocal delivery is quick and
feels urgent and the music is played at a great pace and gives the effect of
chaos which is always fun. Novelty Sweater strays away from the punk sound and
has a bit of an indie pop Weezer feel to it. The music is more feels way more
controlled than on the previous two songs and shows off a nice variety to Jeff’s
song writing skills. Song number four, Nausea is the perfect sing along party
song. Lead by a piano you can’t help but to dance to this song, I’m having a
little bop sitting at my desk writing this. Where the music in the song is
jovial and fun the subject matter is quite different. It seems like Jeff is
struggling with some anxieties about justifying his life choices to the people
he loves and begins to push those people away.
Beers Alone Again is a slowed down methodical song. Because
of this you can’t help but really tune into the lyrics of the song as Jeff
sings about drinking by himself because all of his friends have gone out
without him. I’m Serious, I’m Sorry is one of my favourite Jeff Rosenstock
songs ever. Beginning with just some electric guitar and Jeff’s distinctive
voice skips along at an urgent pace. This song is an apology to a friend who he
failed to help grieve for a loved one. Whether the story is true or not the
lyrics are incredibly powerful and moving. If you only check out one song from
this album I implore you to choose this one. I don’t want to post any lyrics
from it so you can go into it as fresh as I was the first time I heard it. Hey
Alison is a straight forward unapologetic punk rock song with a huge chorus
that you will be singing for days. Polar Bear Or Africa is another stand out
track. Sound wise it’s quite hard to pin it to a certain genre, parts of it
feel like a punk anthem, part of feels like a power pop song and the
synthesizer gives it a feeling of something completely different. I like the
cross genre nature of the song, it takes you on a rollercoaster throughout the
song, keeping you wondering what will be coming next. Polar Bear Or Africa is
another song about growing up and maturing. It talks about the realisation that
as you get older you need to look after your body and regretting taking all the
needless chances that all young people take before they know better. When you’re
young you don’t think about how the choices you make in life will affect the
people you love. I thought this was a really interesting and unique subject for
a song.
Hall Of Fame is another methodical song. The sound is that
of alternative pop music with a lot of emphasis placed on a pounding drumbeat
and some distorted bass lines. The song itself is about trying to keep your
place, knowing that there is always someone ready to take it when you got
knocked down. All Blissed Out is the most experimental song on the record;
musically I can’t really explain the sound other than being a bit strange. I
don’t really like to use the word strange though as that feels negative and
makes me sound like I’m saying the song is bad. The song is not bad at all. I
really can’t explain this song; you’ll have to listen to it yourself. All
Blissed Out does sync perfectly into the next song on the album, The Lows. This
is a great drinking song and see’s Jeff’s lyrics in perfect downtrodden form
again. He sings about life as a touring musician in a small band and struggling
to keep a life together back home. He verse about his relationship with his
parents is genius “Trade A Few Beers For Crashing On Couches, And Overstaying
Your Welcome With Your Parents, They’re Furrowing Their Brows While They
Wondered What Happened, They’re So Fucking Bad At Hiding Their Disappointment.”
The final song Darkness Records begins like the first one began, acoustically.
Like the first the song soon bursts into life and is joined by the full band
and features some really rapid fire drumming before returning to the acoustics.
An excellent song to close a great album.
We Cool? shows just what a talented musician and song writer
Jeff Rosenstock is. The album features twelve very different songs that whilst
being different still very much sound like a Jeff Rosenstock song. I think this
is an album you will listen to again and again and every single time you listen
to it you will find something else about it that you love. An early contender
for album of the year.
Stream and buy We Cool? here: https://jeffrosenstock.bandcamp.com/
Get all the latest Jeff news here: https://www.facebook.com/jeffrosenstockmusic
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