For years, the pop-punk auteur Jeff Rosenstock has been one of the most consistently delightful characters on the entire DIY music underground. He makes yelpy, catchy, unashamedly dramatic music that’s often driven by both personal and global apocalypse. He can be funny and ferociously bleak at the same time. His music veers all over the punk rock map, from the stuff that’s generally accepted as being cool to the stuff that’s just absolutely not. And now he has a new album, which is a cause for rejoicing.
Today, with no advance warning, Rosenstock, who comes from Long Island and who is now based in Los Angeles, has released the new LP No Dream. Rosenstock has been plenty busy lately. Rosenstock and his friend Chris Farren have revived their duo Antarctigo Vespucci and released their Love In The Time Of E-Mail album. Rosenstock and Laura Stevenson have released an EP of Neil Young covers. Rosenstock made a live album. Rosenstock has also scored 80 episodes of the Cartoon Network series Craig Of The Creek. But No Dream is the first full-on Jeff Rosenstock album since he dropped the excellent POST- on us on New Year’s Day 2018.
Rosenstock recorded No Dream with Deafheaven/Joyce Manor producer Jack Shirley, a past collaborator. Chris Farren and Laura Stevenson sing backup on a bunch of songs. I’m writing this while listening for the first time, and thus far, No Dream is fast and explosive and fittingly anxious — exactly what we’d want from a Jeff Rosenstock album right now. I can’t wait to dig into this thing more. Stream No Dream below.
No Dream is out now on Polyvinyl. Right now, it’s available as a free download at Quote Unquote. If you do pay money for it, though, 10% of the proceeds go to Food Not Bombs.
