Bleachers returned today, dropping two new songs, “chinatown” and “45,” off their forthcoming third album, coming in 2021.
“chinatown” is a collaboration between Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff and Bruce Springsteen that serves as a simultaneous ode to being afraid of love and New Jersey. Springsteen surprisingly jumps in, rather than making a smoother verse transition, but the pair still wind up working well together on the song.
On the flip side, “45” is a more stripped-down track with a simple guitar melody that places Antonoff’s vocals and words as the primary focus.
Antonoff touched on both of his new songs in a statement, saying:
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, its 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.
Watch the video for “chinatown (feat. Bruce Springsteen)” (dir. Carlotta Kohl) and listen to “45” below.
