Something uncanny happens during “upstairs at els,” the closing track on Bleachers ’ new album. Jack Antonoff is weaving through a party on the roof of Electric Lady Studios, picking out faces from the mass of people: “Inside Jack and Carly Rae /Part of the band, Laura, Oli, and Ray.” Turns out that “Jack” is Electric Lady’s recording engineer, Jack Manning, but for a moment, I thought Antonoff was recounting an out-of-body experience, a glimpse of himself from outside himself. Even since Bleachers became a proper band with 2024’s self-titled LP , the project remains, at its core, the musings and ruminations of a man who built a career by helping other musicians spin their private diary entries into neon-lit , billboard (and Billboard)-sized pop music. On everyone for ten minutes , Antonoff’s preferred subject—what it’s like to be Jack Antonoff—starts to feel more myopic than intimate. Hemmed in by a cluttered mix and NIMBYish paranoia, this album will test even a loyal fan’s investment in its creator.…