Two-hundred-and-twenty-two days into this music year, I don’t know how many more slices of metaphorical cake I can eat.

The Bleachers - Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night

Multi-Instrumentalist and producer Jack Antonoff is the hot ticket that I only recently learned about (thanks, Gray.) Jack seems to want to bring dynamics back to music. His production includes Clairo - Sling, St. Vincent - Daddy’s Home, The (Dixie) Chicks - Gaslighter, the last 3 Lana Del Rey albums, and the previous 5 Taylor Swift albums.

Take The Sadness Out Of Saturday Night is the third release under Jack’s stage moniker The Bleachers. The opening track is immediately captivating, coming in with cello and dissolving into dreamy 80’s pop that makes me nostalgic for a time I didn’t even exist. The rest of the album follows with danceable slow pop-rock songs that play in the shadows of Steely Dan, Elvis Costello, and the Talking Heads. I see you, Mr. Antonoff; you have my attention.

Dave - We’re All Alone In This Together

Hats off to the only artist I search for by album name, 23-year-old British rapper Dave returns for his second album. We’re All Alone In This Together is yet another stellar quarantine album that exists thematically in loneliness and struggles with mental health. Dave’s diverse rap flow and socially conscious lyrics drive this 61-minute masterpiece, with some expert production from the one and only James Blake. This album goes deeper than I’m willing to go at times; it’s an exercise in the dissolution of toxic masculinity, a brushstroke of complex emotions. Who needs a new Kanye album anyway?