Jack Antonoff has returned, although he was never really gone. The busiest producer in the Western Hemisphere is the guy behind some of the most talked-about albums of the last few years, like Taylor Swift’s double-album knockout, Lana Del Ray’s two most recent projects and the Chicks’ return. Antonoff also popped up on Swift’s Long Pond Studio Sessions with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and The National’s Aaron Dessner. He’s a busy guy.
But Bleachers is Antonoff’s own band and following a pair of singles a few months back, we now have an official album title (Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night) and a bouncy new single (“Stop Making This Hurt”) with a music video directed by Carlotta Kohl.
In a statement, Antonoff wrote that the single was inspired by his own struggles with depression, which were exacerbated by the pandemic. “‘Stop Making This Hurt’ is what you get when we are not allowed to go play for our people,” he wrote (sic throughout).
“it’s a line that had been ringing in my head for years. i fell into a dark place after a loss and then starting to have that feeling of rage towards the depression – which is when you know there’s a way out. started looking at the people close to me in my life and finding all the ways we keep ourselves from breaking through. ‘Stop Making This Hurt’ started ringing more and more in my head. then the pandemic hit and i got the band in a room and we played like we may never play again. at that point it took on another meaning. found myself banging at the door of the next phase of my life and to open brings up all the darkness from the past and what’s holding you back. i could intellectualize it for days but what im truly left with is a voice in my head shouting “Stop Making This Hurt”.”
Well, that’s about as relatable as feels get. Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night will include the two previously released singles “45” and the Bruce Springsteen-assisted “Chinatown.” It’ll release on July 30. Not soon enough for us.
