Put Bleachers' New Single on Your Summer Playlist

Summertime is just the best time for new music. On Tuesday, fun. band member Jack Antonoff’s side project Bleachers released, “Rollercoaster,” a fantastic new song from their forthcoming debut album, Strange Desire. The peppy, ’80-inspired throwback anthem will make you feel like you’re livin’ in a John Hughes movie. How awesome is that?

Antonoff, who is currently dating Girls creator Lena Dunham, kept Bleachers a secret until the sudden release of the group’s infectious debut single, “I Wanna Get Better,” last February. Before Bleachers performed at The Governor’s Ball Music Festival in New York City on June 8, Antonoff sat down with Billboard to talk a little bit about the band’s upcoming album, remarking that songwriting for Bleachers is a lot “lonelier” than songwriting for fun. He explained, “With fun. there’s so many ideas bouncing all around and with this it’s me alone in my head trying to make sense of what I think a song should be.”

Back in May, Antonoff got even more personal about his experience working on Bleachers' new music via, interestingly enough, a Craigslist ad. In his note, Antonoff said that the line, “Feeling like I never was young, I followed a dream and a strange desire,” speaks to his “entire life over the past 14 years of writing and being on tour.” He continued:

I do feel like I’m constantly mourning a childhood I never had. Mostly because I dealt with a lot of loss in the most formative years of my life. That ties into a lot of the lyrics on the album. …As much as it’s weird to admit, sharing this album is as important as making it for me. I’m able to move on with my life from hearing the stories of what people have been through as well as telling them myself. People hearing my stories makes me feel less alone, hearing other’s stories does the same…

On “Rollercoaster,” Antonoff shares the story of a fast-paced, thrilling love affair that he just can’t let go of. As you listen to the song’s first verse, it's easy to imagine yourself boarding an amusement park ride. Antonoff sings:

It was summer when I saw your face

Looked like a teenage runaway

And God I never thought we’d take it that far

Some killer queen you are

The excitement and anticipation in Antonoff’s voice increases as the rollercoaster begins its ascent:

Now I’m running and I can’t stop, anywhere I go

I think about it every day and that I can’t let go

Man, I’m never the same

We were shotgun lovers, I was shotgun runnin’ away

The song’s chorus arrives just as the ride plunges down its first big drop (naturally, your hands are in the air at this point):

So, come a little closer

There is something I could tell ya

You are such a rollercoaster

And a killer queen you are

First, you’ll be all:

Then, you’ll be like:

And finally, you just might top it all of with a little of this:

Hey, it’s hot outside — you have to stay cool somehow!

Check out Bleachers’ '80s-infused summer jam “Rollercoaster” via YouTube below. Strange Desire is due out on July 15.

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