Over the past decade, few artists have made more of an impact on the pop world than Jack Antonoff. He's an in-demand producer and songwriter—earlier this year, he and St. Vincent's Annie Clark shared the Best Rock Song Grammy Award for her electro-rock deconstruction "Masseduction"—and his own projects have also drawn recognition. As Antonoff's synth-pop solo vehicle Bleachers headlines the House of Blues, we take a look at his many musical moods.
Bleachers Across two studio albums—2014's Strange Desire and 2017's Gone Now—Bleachers has cultivated an '80s electro-pop throwback sound brimming with lyrical heart and soul. Vocally, Antonoff often sounds like '80s Bruce Springsteen—no doubt because he's also proudly from New Jersey—although hits such as "I Wanna Get Better" and "Let's Get Married" have a sparkling sound all their own.
Fun. Now on hiatus, fun. was one of the most successful groups of the early 2010s. After the trio—which also included Nate Ruess and Andrew Dost—established their indie-pop bona fides with 2009's Aim and Ignite, they employed Queen-esque stacked production and harmonies for 2012's Some Nights, and won Grammys for Best New Artist and Song of the Year for their No. 1 hit "We Are Young."
Production/Songwriting Work When Antonoff isn't releasing his own music, he keeps busy working with other pop artists—especially those looking to push their sound in new directions. He executive produced and co-wrote all but one song on Lorde's introspective second album, 2017's Melodrama; teamed up with Sara Bareilles to co-write her inspiring 2013 hit "Brave"; and co-wrote five songs overall on St. Vincent's pop-subverting 2017 album, Masseduction. In 2019, Antonoff threw a curveball by taking a prominent songwriting role on Lana Del Rey's much-lauded Norman F*cking Rockwell!—and he's rumored to be working with the Dixie Chicks.
Taylor Swift Collaborator Antonoff's long-term creative relationship with Swift has yielded huge dividends. After receiving a Golden Globe Best Original Song nomination for co-producing and co-writing the song "Sweeter Than Fiction," he co-wrote three tunes on 2014's modern-pop classic 1989—receiving a Grammy Award when the LP took Album of the Year honors—and contributed heavily to 2017's Reputation (including co-writing the No. 1 smash "Look What You Made Me Do") and this year's Lover.
Miscellaneous Before Antonoff was in fun., he played in the piano-heavy indie-rock band Steel Train, which found modest success in the 2000s by releasing three albums and touring with Tegan and Sara, among others. For good measure, in 2019 Antonoff formed another band, the R&B/hip-hop-leaning synth-pop trio Red Hearse, which released in a self-titled debut album in August.
BLEACHERS with Cloud. December 21, 7:30 p.m., $31-$41. House of Blues, 702-632-7600.
