HELLMODE

I fell in love with Jeff Rosenstock's album "WORRY." back in 2019 or 2020 and just thought that it was a wonderfully emotional and sincere collection of tracks in a genre that usually falls flat on its face with its sincerity; yet, afterwards, I didn't really pay much attention to his work, for whatever reason. I tried a couple of tracks here and there and actually listened to like half of the Ska album that he did, but never got into him much past the aforementioned album. Now, three or four years later, I decided to give him another shot and I'm very glad I did, because "Hellmode" is quite a great example of how to do this type of music right.

It is, again, sincere and emotional, but there is a technical prowess as well as a thoughtful intelligence put into these songs that makes it a much more rewarding and mature experience than you'd usually expect. This is his most acclaimed since "WORRY.", so I guess that is a factor as to why I immediately liked this more than his other ones since then, but nevertheless, the lyrics and performances on this thing are effective and tight, and that's really all I have to say. It's a record that can touch you emotionally, but it's also a lot of fun to listen to, which is a great dynamic. I admire this record a lot, and while I think the first half is a little better than the second, it's still a very good project, and certainly one of the best I've heard so far this year.