At the very beginning of 2018, Jeff Rosenstock shocked the punk-loving world by surprise-releasing a phenomenal new album. Titled Post-, Rosenstock’s latest effort authentically captures the vibe of despair, anger and ennui that many of else felt throughout the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency. One of the standout tracks from that album was an uptempo rager titled “Melba,” the video for which Rosenstock has shared with the world today.
Opening in a nondescript company boardroom, the video captures a seemingly never-ending chain of people going wild and breaking whatever objects happen to hover into their view. Midway through, Rosenstock himself appears as an aghast maitre d, standing by helplessly as a gentleman in a suit disrupts diner’s meals while flipping tables in a restaurant. Eventually, the singer gets in on the action, bringing wanton destruction himself to the restaurant’s kitchen.
In a recent interview with our own Steven Hyden, Rosenstock opened up about his goals in creating Post-. “At least half the record was written immediately after the inauguration,” he revealed. I just went up to the mountains — my friends had a place that they let me go to for a little bit, to demo and just get out of the city. [But] of course I don’t like Trump. I don’t think that’s particularly interesting. I’m tired of talking about Trump. I want to talk about us and what we’re going to do. There’s not a lot of empathy in this world anymore, on either side.”
You can watch the “Melba” video above.
