Lena Dunham took a break from Girls and writing her first book to direct a video for the debut single of her boyfriend Jack Antonoff's new band, Bleachers. Antonoff plays a recently dumped therapist who glumly sits through sessions with a series of oddball patients who deliver very Dunham-y lines like "my parents gave me this dog so I'd get an abortion…he's an abortion dog." The video has her wry, darkly humorous sensibility, but it also steps out of her comfort zone by embracing the big emotions and triumphant spirit of Antonoff's song.
Since Antonoff is also a member of fun., Bleachers is technically a "side project," but "I Wanna Get Better" doesn't feel indulgent or disposable. It's just as unapologetically catchy and anthemic as the best fun. songs, but with a more electronic sound to it. According to Antonoff, the music comes from his desire to reject the timid sound of contemporary indie music and make rock songs that are both mainstream and musically interesting. "What I think is cool is next-level stuff, not easy listening," he recently told BuzzFeed. "God, just shoot me the day I start making music you can just put on in the car and have a conversation over it. That's not what I want to listen to. I want to listen to the stuff that makes me want to cry or have some kind of huge emotion."