Bleachers' Jack Antonoff Hits All The Right Notes During iHeartRadio Album Release Party

Mere hours before the release of Bleachers' sophomore effort, Gone Now, Jack Antonoff appeared seemingly relaxed during his Thursday night (June 1) iHeartRadio Album Release Party. Based on all of the creative investment in the project, which the frontman has compared to having a child, it felt endearing, particularly because this is a singer/songwriter who unabashedly puts his heart on the line, regardless of reaction.

Fronted by his four-piece band, Mr. Antonoff, who wore a tank top, blue jeans and a pair of Doc Martens, appropriately kicked off the nine-song set with "I Wanna Get Better," the lead single from Bleachers' 2014 debut album, Strange Desire, and proclaimed mission statement for the band's brand. "I didn't know I was broken 'til I wanted to change/ I wanna get better, better, better, better," they chanted during the shout-along hook.

Despite the obvious reason to jumpstart his Jonathan Clarke-hosted show with their debut single, it set-up some of the overarching themes of the night: unapologetic awareness and probing emotional complexities. If you had any doubt as to why he's earned the reputation for being a soul-baring pop paradigm for some titans of today like Taylor Swift and Lorde, it was staring us right in the face. 

Elsewhere during the almost-60 minute affair, the musical impresario touched on several moments from the band's new LP, including the anti-commercialism-focused "Don't Take The Money," the ode to his fallen sister called "Everybody Lost Somebody" and the '80s-charged "Hate That You Know Me." 

After working on the release from the comforts of his Brooklyn Heights apartment, which he shares with his girlfriend Lena Dunham, the former Fun. guitarist finds himself hitting another milestone on both personal and professional ends, and that's something that his album's guest collaborators can attest to.

Even though the Thursday night affair saw no sign of Lorde, Carly Rae Jepsen or Julia Michaels, his adoration for the female voice filled the Tribeca venue. Asked if he works better with female collaborators, he said, "I think the music industry is pretty weird and a lot of men have [this] 'Let's crush the world' feeling. I get that question a lot, so I think about it. Sometimes I write in the falsetto octave, so maybe it works for that reason. I grew up with sisters. I don't know, but there's a pattern there and I'm fine with it."

While the emotional output of Gone Now remained the focus of the night, Antonoff did go back into his catalogue for even more Strange Desire cuts during an extended portion of the live show, which was not aired for radio broadcast. After churning out a performance of "Rollercoaster," Jack and co. ventured into "Wake Me," an acoustic version of "Like a River Runs," and "I Miss Those Days" to the crowd's delight. 

Most notably, Antonoff appeared elated to simply share the celebratory moment with his fans. "[The] album is coming out in a matter of seconds!" he exclaimed to the crowd at one point.

Closing in on the hour, Antonoff asked the New York City audience for one last round of applause for his finale performance of "Shadow," a record that finds the face of Bleachers offering his support to all of the broken hearts around. And for someone that merges together alternative pop and emotional spheres so well, it was a fitting ending to a show, which heard Antonoff weave in and out of the topics that shape our emotional growth ⏤ all while still admitting his own uncertainty on the matters as well.

Gone Now is currently available for download on iTunes.

Photo: Rachel Kaplan for iHeartRadio