Jack Antonoff passed Late Night with Seth Meyers Thursday to perform a new Bleachers song and discuss making classics and hits with Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey.
For their performance, Bleachers performed 'Alma Mater', their recently released single that moves between a hazy, eerie dreamscape and a raucous blast of late-night saxophone glory. Del Rey, unfortunately, wasn't on hand to provide backing vocals (as she does on the studio recording), but Antonoff had a sample machine with some of her best lines to make her presence known.
During his interview with Meyers, Antonoff talked about his six Grammy nominations, most of which came from his work on Swift's Midnight and Del Rey Did you know there is a tunnel under Ocean Blvd. Antonoff explained that he was particularly “proud” of these two records because of the way they pushed against the typical music industry pressure to pivot.
“Lana and Taylor, we've just been working for a long time and we've found this space where it's getting looser and more exciting,” Antonoff said, adding, “Making an album is hard enough on the mind and the body. It seems like shame on you for introducing dissonance into the actual process.”
Later in the interview, Antonoff talked about performing and making music alongside Bruce Springsteen, as well as learning from him and other notable New Jersey legends. “Music comes from a landscape, I come from a place, New Jersey, that's very misunderstood,” he said, citing a slew of artists who helped him learn the state's unique musical vernacular, including Southside Johnny, Saves the Day, Lifetime, and Lauryn Hill.
“All the things that came out of New Jersey and said, 'This place that's so misunderstood has a voice.' And specifically with Bruce and the landscape writing thing, it's like, yeah, that's what we're doing: We're driving on highways and we're thinking. It gives you a lot of courage to write and not just drive around town and pretend you're from there.”
Bleachers are set to release their new self-titled album on March 8th. Following the album's release, they will embark on a North American tour, which will begin on May 18 in Salt Lake City and conclude on June 15 in Asbury Park, New Jersey.
