Review Summary: Familiarity doesn't have to coincide with stagnation.
There aren't too many artists that can reinvent themselves while staying true to their roots quite like Jeff Rosenstock. In his early career, he successfully built an underground following based on offerings of top shelf ska punk with
The Arrogant Sons of Bitches and
Bomb the Music Industry!, but by this point, Jeff has completely removed the ska element from his music. There are also more than a couple of songs on this release that seem to be trying their damnedest to distance themselves from punk as well. Yet you aren't going to find too many fans that claim that this album doesn't almost perfectly represent what Rosenstock should sound like at this intersection of his musical career.
While Jeff lets certain aspects of his sound either slide to the back or put them to rest completely, he takes others and gives them much more control than he ever has in the past. And not only is the result brilliant, it feels so natural that potentially displeased fans don't have a leg to stand on were they to argue that the album isn't what they've come to expect from Jeff.
We Cool? is best described as a power pop album. There are plenty of other genres skillfully mixed into the experience like the country tinged "Beers Again Alone", or the more experimental than usual "All Blissed Out" or even the almost rockabilly feel in the first half of "Polar Bear or Africa", but it would not be easy to deny the off kilter pop sound that invades every corner of this album. And it's not anything new for Jeff. The man has always had strong pop sensibilities, but he embraces them here tighter than ever before.
Lyrically, as with any Rosenstock release, you can expect lots of self-loathing and downer lines, but you can also expect a sense of humor about it and an overall optimism if you pay close enough attention. Jeff is still Jeff after all. And that's the thing to take away from this album. Jeff is the furthest from stagnant that he can be. He's making music unlike any that he's made before, but he's also aware of what his fans want. His artistic hunger is as strong as it has ever been.
