No Dream


No Dream is the fourth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Jeff Rosenstock. It was released on May 20, 2020, without any promotional lead-up. The album was released on Polyvinyl Record Co. in the United States and by Specialist Subject Records in the United Kingdom. It is also available directly from the artist through Quote Unquote Records and .
Ten percent of proceeds from any digital sales made from the album are being donated to the Food Not Bombs mutual aid network.
On April 20, 2021 Rosenstock released Ska Dream, a fully rerecorded rendition of the album as a ska album.

Critical reception

No Dream was met with universal acclaim reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 85, based on 7 reviews.
In the review for Exclaim!, Adam Feibel wrote that the album was "probably the most Jeff Rosenstock of all Jeff Rosenstock records thus far. It's fun, loud and boisterous. It's packed to the brim but sounds so simple. It's sneakily cheeky and curiously charming." Writing for Pitchfork, Ian Cohen claimed that the album was "quintessential Jeff Rosenstock—an album formulated around evergreen sociopolitical concerns yet sounds like it could’ve been written 30 minutes ago." Talking the album in a review for Under the Radar, Caleb Campbell stated that " is just as self-effacing, funny, and principled as ever. He is still creating quality additions to one of the most consistent punk discographies out there. Most importantly, his music is still an absolute blast to experience, looking towards an uncertain future with a beautiful collective spirit."
Kyle Kohner was slightly more reserved when appraising the album for Beats Per Minute, claiming that "NO DREAM can be rather skin-deep when it comes to commentary on society-at-large, it’s a little more complex and tender when the record veers to Rosenstock himself as the subject. Through every desire to watch it all crash and burn into rubble, Rosenstock also throws in instances that are disarmingly human." Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Mark Deming called it a "passionate and kicks out the jams, not suggesting he wants to reinvent the wheel but that he knows how to get it to roll and pushes it fast and hard in the right direction."

Accolades

Track listing

Personnel

Death Rosenstock
  • Dan Potthast – acoustic guitar, keyboards, vocals
  • Jeff Rosenstock – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, mixing, "n more"
  • John DeDomenici – bass
  • Mike Huguenor – guitars, vocals
  • Kevin Higuchi – drums
Additional personnel
  • Chris Farren – keyboards, vocals
  • Laura Stevenson – vocals
  • Lauren Brief – vocals, backing vocals, claps
  • Bob Vielma – trombone
  • Gilbert Armendariz – backing vocals, claps
  • Angelina Banda – backing vocals, claps
  • Sim Castro – backing vocals, claps
  • Laura Hammond – backing vocals, claps
  • Neil Sharma – backing vocals, claps
  • Jack Shirley – recording, engineering, production, mixing, mastering
  • Ben Levin – illustrations
  • Hiro Tanaka – photography

    ''Ska Dream''

Ska Dream was announced through Twitter on April Fools' Day, 2021, and was released on April 20. Due to the lack of other promotion, many assumed the announcement was a joke.
Although the song titles are all altered to contain puns and references to ska culture, the lyrics are identical to the original album. Two tracks' new arrangements contain brief quotes from songs by other artists: the first track quotes "Our Time" by The Suicide Machines, the seventh quotes "Nite Klub" by The Specials.
Pitchforks Brad Shoup wrote that, "for longtime fans of , though, each 'hup' and 'pick it up' is truly affecting", and said the album had "ample artistic merit". Anthony Fantano of The Needle Drop ranked the album 10th in his top 50 albums of 2021, saying the songs of No Dream "sound even better as ska versions".

Track listing

Personnel

Death Rosenstock
  • John DeDomenici – bass
  • Kevin Higuchi – drums, percussion
  • Mike Huguenor – guitar
  • Jer Hunter – trombone, trumpet
  • David "Hooplah Jones" Rerhig - Saxophone, trumpet
  • Rick Johnson – Hammond, Farfisa, Casio CZ101
  • Christine Mackie – bells
  • Dan Potthast – acoustic guitar, piano, vocals
  • Jeff Rosenstock – vocals, guitar, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, Farfisa, Juno 106, Moog Prodigy, lyra, Wurlitzer, bells, Space Echo, artwork design
  • Laura Stevenson – vocals
Additional Personnel
  • Ara Babajian – additional cymbals
  • Sean Bonnette – vocals
  • Boboso – rapping
  • George Clarke – vocals
  • David Combs – vocals
  • Chris Farren – guitar, vocals
  • Augusta Koch – vocals
  • Angelo Moore – saxophone solo
  • Franz Nicolay – piano
  • nonregla – dub effects, production
  • Elise Okusami – vocals
  • Mike Park – tenor saxophone
  • PUP – vocals
  • Anika Pyle – vocals
  • Shannon Toombes – vocals
  • Matt Embree – drum recording
  • Ryan Perras – guitar recording for Mike Huguenor
  • Jack Shirley – mixing, mastering
  • Ben Levin – illustrations