Jeff Rosenstock has followed up with another power pop / pop punk album a bit over a year after his incredible "WORRY." with "POST-". As energetic, anxious, and introspective as ever, "POST-" gets its point across well, though maybe not as good as "WORRY." managed.
The lyrics are anthemic and proud, especially on the first track, "USA". Containing elements of both accessible pop punk and more esoteric post-hardcore, Rosenstock furthermore easily connects the two genres with a sort of controlled, melodic, fury. Sometimes he even sounds like Robert Pollard in his voice and lyrics, imitating mid-nineties indie rock perfectly.
The lyrics too are not anything too special or complex, but still get their point across well and greatly enhance the music. Rosenstock's voice seems both energetic and pained throughout, fostering a sort of edgier Weezer in it.
More political than before, Rosenstock shows his distaste for current society in various ways throughout the album, both on a national and personal scale. The hooks and melodies help greatly in this, as well as for the album overall, as they carry the overall message more than anything else. The lyrics furthermore have less to do with Rosenstock's own personal problems and more with living with and accepting depression and anxiety in the world we live in today. In this, Rosenstock seems rather jaded in his lyrics, and hopeless in seeing any positive change occur soon.
"WORRY-" is better mostly because it is a "POST-" that doesn't drag on as much and gets more to the point with its lyrics and instrumentation. Though songs like "USA" "TV Stars" and "Let Them Win" are still good (TV Stars being a personal favorite of mine on the album), they can still drag on and grow drab. Mixed with a lot more slower moments than before, and "POST-" can seem dry sometimes.
Overall, the album, though solid, is still nothing new for both Rosenstock and the genres of power pop and pop punk. Rosenstock is a main name in the pop-punk music scene by now, and as such can stand to keep pumping out solid, but not great, albums. Overall for pop-punk, though, Rosenstock is still very creative, as the genre is all too rife with bland and uninteresting copies of each other and the same sound. Have to give credit where credit is due for that one and Rosenstock.
However, if a fan of Rosenstock or his genres of choice, the listener will not be disappointed in "POST-" at all, and will see it as a great addition to Rosenstock's discography still worth to be thrown on every now and again. "POST-" shows that Rosenstock is still an incredibly reputable and solid pop punk musician in his own right, and leaves me excited to see what his future outputs will contain.
"Pinkerton", at least for me, is heralded as the magnum opus of this genre. Here's hoping Rosenstock can try and rival that in the near future. He seems to have the ability to in him.
