W.S. Walcott Medicine Show

Jeff Rosenstock – HELLMODE  I make no bones about it, I’m a tried and true Rosenstock fanboy.  2021 saw his SKA Dream album finish #3 for me.  2020 had No Dream at #4.  POST- finished #2 in 2018 and Worry finished #1 in 2016, so it should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me and my taste in music that HELLMODE is as high as it is on my list.  Truth be told, I had it at numero uno up until this last month and it got inched out through no fault of its own.  HELLMODE doesn’t break course musically with anything Jeff has offered up in the past, but lyrically I think it might be his best offering yet.  Rosenstock’s ability to capture the angst and emotions of Gen Z as well as the misfits of any generation is unparalleled. His sardonic story telling nails it on this one, and while (as I said earlier), musically he and the rest of Death Rosenstock don’t wander too far off their already proven path, the band does sound TIGHT AS SHIT on this one.  Sonically, this is easily the best sounding album he’s put out thus far. While I respect and admire his DIY sounding efforts of the past, HELLMODE clearly from a production, mixing and mastering standpoint is heads and tails the best thing he’s ever put out.  HELLMODE was by far my most listened to album this year and there’s good reason for that.