LOGAN MARTIN  The Mainstream

New York based Jeff Rosenstock released “Post” on Jan. 2, 2017. “Post” is an alt-rock record with a punk feel (think Weezer).

I feel like I need to start by saying I’ve never listened to any of Rosenstock’s music. I really do enjoy this record though – it’s refreshing yet comfortable. Rosenstock has a way of making himself relatable without feeling like he’s trying to. “Post” has some really original sounds on it. That said, the amount of repeated choruses gets old. This is a sad record telling a story of loneliness, jealousy and the feeling of a need to do something against a power everyone feels powerless against.

The record starts out with “USA” which is probably the strongest track on here. It’s punchy and catchy, a solid frame for the rest of the record.

“USA” builds up from the initial angry sounds of fuzzy guitars to a story of a man being drowned by some kids whose symbolic explanation was “you promised us the stars, and now we’re tired and bored.” Then the song dazes off into spacey synth arpeggiations, slowly returning to the chaos of the chorus.

Maybe it’s because I’m the target audience of poor 20 somethings, but I identify with the idea of being told the future was ours to take when it already has an owner. I also just get stuck in a loop of being “tired and bored,” working for other people, putting all this time into school when we don’t really know if the jobs will be there when we’re done, trying to work on a political system that’s very obviously broken.

The vocals are passionate in this track, creating a sense of openness with the harmonization.

“TV Stars” is one song where Rosenstock gets real about his own emotions. It tells a story of him thinking of an ex wondering if she watches the same TV shows he does with her new lover, and how he’s by himself and the people on his TV don’t really care about him. The track offers a great sense of loneliness and scale. I would say this is one of Rosenstocks biggest draws – making a sense of scale while still having that dash of punk attitude. 9/10 is my favorite on here. It captures a sense of loneliness and a difficult situation continuing the story from TV stars.

I think the sound of “9/10” really portrays its lyrics of being “stoned on the subway, dodging eye contact of anyone in view” and just being really sad, thinking about someone who doesn’t want you around anymore.

“We’re not Going to Let Them Win”, while being a good song, is the one with the most “Oh-oh-oh” sections, and it goes on for about 10 minutes. Similar to Christian-rock from 2007 in a post-punk container, the song has a horde of feel-good choruses constantly repeated with the word “fuck” added in. It’s still better than most music made into chorus-ridden homunculi, and we really do need more music that has a little encouragement because we live in some dismal times.

I do really believe this is a great record that really is worth your time and money. Rosenstock makes something really original within a genre that really doesn’t always receive this much care and attention. I will say it’s something I wouldn’t normally listen to, pop punk isn’t my thing, but in this it’s just really well executed. If you just skipped to the end of this column to see what I think, listen at least to “USA”; it’s the most likely to catch your interest, but the whole thing really is worth listening to.