everyone for ten minutes – Bleachers

Bleachers’ newest studio album everyone for ten minutes has arrived and is spearheaded by famous lyricist and poet Jack Antonoff, who we know from huge artists, most famously Taylor Swift. You may know him from getting in the getaway car, leaving them at the motel bar, and taking the money, the bag, and the key and yes, you guessed it, “the last time you ever saw me.” Previously associated with the band fun., Antonoff has been working on his side project Bleachers for over ten years now, with their hit single “I Wanna Get Better” carrying them through and igniting energy across listeners’ ears. This new album is definitely the taste of a specific ear, with a touch of Springsteen Jersey energy in the air. Without further ado, I give to you… the review.

sideways
Opening up the album with an obscure track that sounds like it would sit right in the middle of a movie, we follow what feels like the transformation of some whacked out person that completely lost control of themselves. Someone this man has fallen in love with, hopelessly I might add. Calling them a “walking cash-out” and a “weekend fascist” brings deep rooted resentment right to the surface, alluding to the idea that this person is never sure of their own opinions. A flip flopper if you will. But despite all of this, the essential statement that he will love them “sideways” tells us the love is still devoted and unconditional. He owes this person something. The outro reveals that when he was in need, they were there for him, and because of that he can’t let go no matter how messy things have become.

the van
A Beatles-feeling ba ba ba opens us into a Springsteen vibey track telling the story of a lonely young kid trying to cure the crushing boredom and isolation of growing up. Getting very specific with the surroundings, the story begins at a Wawa with some Jersey kid who never learned how to pump gas, sitting there helpless at the station. Surrounding the story around this rickety vehicle displays a huge theme of simplicity. They aren’t looking for much, just anything to stop being alone with their thoughts. Anything to outrun loneliness. The line “that’s the thing about loving your shadow” perfectly puts across this idea that you can become attached to your sadness because it’s always there with you. The messy harmonies and harmonica let that classic Jersey grunge shine through in the best way possible.

we should talk
This one opens up with a faint twinkle that feels reminiscent of The La’s. The vocal is robotic and distant, almost like a teenage garage band demo buzzing through an old speaker. There’s something so young yet nostalgic about it. The song spends its time reminiscing on moments from the van and looking back on someone that used to be close but is now distant. Eventually, Jack admits the obvious: “we should talk.” The second verse references 2012, drilling the nostalgia even further. Saying “before everybody had a hot take from hell” highlights how different everything felt back then and how much less performative people seemed. The final verse jumps into a more present reality filled with success, internet noise, and “woke” culture consuming everything around him. It feels like he’s watching someone get swallowed by constant online sensitivity and outrage. Nevertheless, Jack admits he still misses this person deeply. The robotic outro reassures us that nobody regrets who they became, but both sides recognize the relationship should never have been lost. The Facetime ring at the end confirms it, closing out with pocket rustling like someone hesitating before finally reaching out.

you and forever
A robotic background vocal opens this track almost sounding like some sort of anxiety relief exercise. Immediately, something traumatic feels present. The verse describes complete disorientation and confusion about what’s right in the world: “Losing track of all of God’s indifference / Who gets by?” Suddenly though, something grounds him. Someone. He can finally see clearly because there are only two things left to focus on: “you and forever.” The bridge becomes a rampage of racing thoughts about the good and evil of the world, but every single time the panic builds, the pace slows the second he returns to “you and forever.” It acts as an anchor. The outro is honestly one of the most powerful moments on the album. The muffled final minute sounds like someone screaming into a rainy night, begging to understand what the point of life and doing good even is. Again though, the chaos settles the second “you and forever” returns.

dirty wedding dress
The opening sounds like an old answering machine message. More Springsteen feelings arrive immediately with the “sha la la’s” and “say the mantra” chants. It feels like Jersey Shore early 2000s music in the best way possible, transporting us back to a simpler time. The song presents this idea of creating an exclusive circle away from the fake world around them. “We had to board up all the windows and shoot out the drones” almost sounds like protecting themselves from outside judgment and artificiality. “Only my people can see me / Only my people come in” becomes the core statement of the track. Nobody gets access unless they’re genuine. At the same time, Jack calls out the slimy side of Hollywood and the music industry. Fake reporters, clout chasing, artists exploiting each other, and people profiting off connections. The line about someone wanting publicity “cause I referenced him one time” perfectly captures how transactional everything has become. The biggest point of the song is how the industry changes people. Everyone begins saying “I’ll never let them take my soul,” only to eventually become someone who “waits in line to get ripped off just to turn around and rip someone else off.” The final chorus circles back and proves exactly why he keeps his circle so small.

take you out tonight
Opening with a muffled organ, Jack immediately comes in screaming exactly what he wants out of life. He makes one thing very clear: he has no regard for anyone who hasn’t stood by him. He only wants people that are loyal and real. The chorus explodes with this desire to go out with the one he loves and proudly show everyone what she means to him. The second verse becomes incredibly chaotic, letting all of his thoughts spill out at once. The essential message is basically: fuck everyone, let them talk. I wish I could reconnect with the people I lost, but I have to keep my cool. The next chorus shifts meaning slightly. Now he wants something authentic because “it’s brutal to be uptight.” The following verse dives deeper into that fake Hollywood theme with the line: “I asked a friend how he was doing, he showed me his monthly listeners.” It perfectly captures how people measure worth through success and numbers now. By the third chorus, the lyric changes again: “it’s brutal to be baptized in cold stares and harsh lights.” Fame, pressure, judgment, all of it becomes exhausting, but the song insists you still have to keep going and let loose anyway. The bridge reveals that no matter how hard he tries to move on, he can’t escape the nostalgia, familiarity, and memories pulling him back. Still, he knows eventually he has to trust the process and take the leap. The popping bass, saxophones, and organs in the outro create this beautifully chaotic climax before the song abruptly cuts out at its peak.

i can’t believe you’re gone
The introduction feels like someone numbingly reading through the routines we repeat year after year. Watching a father grow sicker, resolving family conflicts, giving speeches to wrap things up. Everything feels automatic and emotionally exhausted. The second verse bluntly admits that “the truth is too dark and there is too much to lose.” Then the chorus repeats the phrase everyone eventually hears in life: “I can’t believe you’re gone.” The song explores how grief becomes attached to physical spaces and objects around us. Describing a room as both a “nightmare” and a “god” shows how memories constantly shift depending on what emotions are attached to them. Years later, a thought emerges: what if the family all moved back into the childhood home together? Would it provide comfort or just reopen wounds? The final lyric, “If you repeat them enough, you can live with somebody who’s missing,” leaves us with the devastating idea that routine can numb grief enough to survive it.

dancing
The slightly out of tune pluck in the intro immediately tells us the message here might be difficult to hear. The question “Do you think about it when you think about it?” becomes this giant existential mind fuck, asking whether we are even aware of the fact that we’re constantly thinking at all. The verses are filled with painful metaphors about depression, confusion, and simply surviving life. The chorus leans into the idea that being human feels so important to us individually, yet compared to the grand scheme of the world we are microscopic. Everyone is experiencing existence for the first time and trying to process just how massive life really is. The second verse continues these ideas by exploring time itself and how heartbreak makes it all feel even more confusing. “Dying is not romantic this young” feels especially crushing because it points out how dangerous it can be to obsess over these existential fears too early in life.

she’s from before
Track 9 feels noticeably lighter sonically, but the themes remain heavy underneath. Jack admits he has to “tire himself out” and “look right at my baby” because if he slows down, all the troubling thoughts return immediately. He has to distract himself constantly. Loss has clearly shaped the way he sees the world, and he desperately wants to understand where he came from and what any of this means. In many ways, this song feels like an admission that these songs themselves were written so he wouldn’t feel alone in his thoughts anymore. He doesn’t believe grief will magically heal him. He just wants the sinking feeling to stop.

i’m not joking
A medieval sounding opening transitions into a kick snare combo and organ pattern that feels like the end of an 80s rom com or a stadium ball game. He immediately establishes that he is not the jealous type. He doesn’t care where someone has been, he’s just grateful to have them now. The sha-la-la’s once again bring in that Bruce Springsteen feeling. Throughout the song, he repeatedly emphasizes how simple and easy he wants love to be. He’s exhausted from every other aspect of life, so the fact that love comes naturally between them feels comforting. Still, underneath the calmness there’s fear. At the end of the day, when he thinks too deeply about everything, anxiety still creeps back in.

upstairs at els
One final nostalgic introduction brings us into the closing track of the album. We’re transported back to childhood where kids drink on the roof and life still feels manageable. Repeating that him and his friends are “drinking on the roof” makes the roof itself feel symbolic, almost like a code word for safety and comfort. Whenever life becomes overwhelming, he mentally returns to that roof. The bridge acts as a reality check though, acknowledging that life has drifted away from what it once was. Even if those memories weren’t as perfect as he remembers them, he still longs for them. The final verses somehow recap both global events and deeply personal moments at the same time, making the album feel larger than just one person’s story. A saxophone solo drives us home before the outro repeatedly chants “You’re not at it alone,” ending the album with the comforting reminder that no matter how isolating life feels, everyone is carrying something too.