Antarctigo Vespucci Album Review: “Soulmate Stuff”

Antarctigo Vespucci is a project that was born from musical masterminds Jeff Rosenstock, who just recently put the music collective Bomb the Music Industry! to bed, and Fake Problems’ vocalist Chris Farren. What was created was an incredible 7-song debut called Soulmate Stuff that brought me to believe that no matter which way the music industry goes, two friends can get still get together and make amazing music.

That’s part of the charm of the album, that everything feels so organic. There’s no cohesion or planning. The sound of the album is hard to pin down since it feels like the duo didn’t want to be tied down to a specific genre. It pulls from nearly era of rock. Some songs, like “Don’t Die in Yr Hometown,” sound like they fell of of Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A, but then “I’m Giving of U2” and “Bang!” are reminiscent of Weezer’s catchy choruses and relatable lyrics.

The instrumentation contributes to the album’s uniqueness with some tracks backed solely by an acoustic guitar and some become so varied in their instrumentation that something like a glockenspiel could be heard. Farren supplies the vocals to all seven tracks, which is an added bonus considering his laid back emo voice adds so much familiarity. As do the lyrics like: “Just don’t fade out/cause all I want to do is ride my bike and think about sex, yeah.”

It must be said that Casey Lee’s guitar solo in “I’m Giving Up on U2” and Laura Stevenson’s vocals on “Sometimes” are incredible additions to this album.

It’s something to rock out to in the shower or car, or just when you need sometime alone. They supply the summer jams that we have so desperately been wanting all winter. Apparently this might be a one time gig for Chris Farren and Jeff Rosenstock and if it is then so be it, because what they created is timeless.