There’s a sincerity to Jeff Rosenstock that is sorely lacking in a lot of today’s artists. On HELLMODE, the 40-year-old California-by-way-of-New York-based musician screams, croons, yelps, and Oi! Oi! Oi!s his way through 11 tracks of neurosis-fueled barn-burners en route to one of the finer albums of 2023.
Yet another dog and pony show of a presidential election between a gaggle of old white men, cyborgs, and cons is on the horizon. We’re still wading through the aftereffects of a global pandemic that robbed us of family members, friends, and sanity while simultaneously driving wedges between us that turned sidewalk cracks into chasms. The ocean remains undecided if it wants to kill us or hang out off to the side and let the sun handle it, people seem happier than ever to wallow in stupidity, and we’re inching towards the time of year when rednecks can march into Starbucks with their AR-15 and order their tough guy venti pumpkin spice latte with eight shots of espresso, seven pumps of pumpkin sauce, and one pump of fuckin’ maple pecan sauce.
With HELLMODE, Rosenstock jumps in the pool with us, backstroking through mid-COVID isolation, post-COVID terror, an uncertain future, racism, burnout, and existential dread. It’s a lot, Rosenstock is aware, but he’s here for us (and brought his flippers). Opening track “WILL U STILL U” tackles a problem as old as time, love, through a 3-minute and 20-second slow build that begins as an endearing purr and finishes as a barroom scream chant. It slides right into “HEAD” which has moments when it sounds like the Butthole Surfers trying to finish “Pepper” before a sea of lava consumes them.
On the jangly “LIKED U BETTER”, Rosenstock barks out, “But it’s so fuckin’ tiring, being tired all the time/With no indication that it’s ever gonna stop,” and motherfucker I felt that in my balls, my heart, and then my balls again.
Rosenstock’s vulnerability is on display throughout HELLMODE. The frustrating moments sound frustrating, while the tender moments tug at your heartstrings. The first time I heard him sing, “‘Cause I will stay with you/Not do a single thing all day with you/And hunker down after the storm is through/Perfect lazy days where all you need is me, and all I need is you,” on the beautiful “HEALMODE”, I teared up. It’s been a lot — it’s still a lot. A lot is fucking happening, and it doesn’t seem to let up for a second.
Through it all, Rosenstock keeps his smile. We’re fucked (but we aren’t). At least, that’s what I came away with while listening to HELLMODE. Things are crazy, but keep on keepin’ on, and if all we have is us, well, shit, that’s more than enough. I don’t know if this record will touch you the way it has me, but if it’s all the same to you, I think you should give it a shot. Who knows — it might touch your heart the way it has mine. Or, you know, your balls.
Track List:
- WILL U STILL U 10/10
- HEAD 10/10
- LIKED U BETTER 9/10
- DOUBT 9/10
- FUTURE IS DUMB 9/10
- SOFT LIVING 8/10
- HEALMODE 10/10
- LIFE ADMIN 7/10
- I WANNA BE WRONG 7/10
- GRAVEYARD SONG 8/10
- 3 SUMMERS 8/10
Grade: 86
Illegal Foreign Object 
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