Stream Antarctigo Vespucci Leavin’ La Vida Loca

Stream Antarctigo Vespucci Leavin’ La Vida Loca

Antarctigo Vespucci have the hardest name to spell and the best album title. Their first full-length is called Leavin’ La Vida Loca and I want to applaud them for that pun right off the bat, before even getting into how good the record sounds. Chris Farren (Fake Problems) and Jeff Rosenstock (formerly of Bomb The Music Industry!) put out a couple EPs together before this record — Soulmate Stuff and I’m So Tethered — but this seems to mark a progression toward a more concrete project. Farren lives in Florida, Rosenstock in New York, so the process of recording together is limited by physical constraints. For this album they’ve also enlisted Benny Horowitz of Gaslight Anthem on drums. Self-described as “apartment power-pop,” these are songs that dust insecurity, grudges and failure with a fine coat of powdered sugar sweetness. We announced the news of their new album and shared lead single “Impossible To Place” a few weeks ago, and now the entire album is streaming in full.

Back to that band name though — here’s what Rosenstock told Noisey about it:

I thought it was a widely known fact that Amerigo Vespucci is the person who kinda discovered and named America. And I thought it would be funny if the person who discovered every country was also named Something Vespucci.

Yup, genius. Despite their obvious brilliance, it’s so comforting to hear Rosenstock and Farren grapple with mistakes, like on the other previously released track “Losing My Mind.” Or later, these lyrics cut to the quick: “Is it all my fault or just most of it / my potential turns to worthlessness” on “I See Failure.” What a perfect way to capture that feeling that your skills are atrophying with time, and it might be all your fault. Shrouding darkness in bright power-pop chords, Antarctigo Vespucci are bridging a gap we didn’t even know existed. That’s exactly what music is supposed to do. Listen below.

Leavin’ La Vida Loca is out 7/24 via Rosenstock’s own Really Records and will also be out via his donation-based label Quote Unquote Records. Pre-order it here.

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