Stereogum says:
"Jeff Rosenstock started the year off by releasing a new album, POST-, and today he’s shared the first music video based off one of its songs, and it’s a good one. The video for “Melba” was directed by Ben Epstein and David Combs, and it follows a cycle of aggression that starts with a shitty boss making his employees clean up his mess, then follows one of those employees as he takes out his anger on the patrons of a restaurant, and then Rosenstock shows up as a restaurant manager who berates the back kitchen. There’s a lot of smashing glass and cathartic breaking of things, especially in the final sequence where one of the restaurant employees goes back to her room and absolutely demolishes it. Watch below.
Here’s a quote from co-director David Combs:
'Jeff wanted to make a video featuring a character who, consequence free, carelessly destroys everything around them. The idea of such a character reminded me of how often the abuse of power is a thoughtless exercise for those who hold it, so we decided to expand on the idea and make it a commentary on how abusive patterns get replicated — where the effects are passed downward hierarchically and the people with the least power experience the consequences most intensely. You know, also it’s fun to watch people smash shit, so we tried to have a good time with that too.'"
SPIN says:
"Jeff Rosenstock, the Brooklyn-based punk outsider behind Bomb the Music Industry!, has released the first video from his latest solo effort POST-. The visual for 'Melba,' directed by Ben Epstein and David Combs, stars Rosenstock as a restaurant manager who violently loses his temper after dealing with the pent up anger of a disgruntled patron. The cycle of aggression, which ends with another restaurant employee destroying her apartment, matches the frustration in the song’s lyrics: 'This was a shit day/ Can’t power through the haze/ I’m tired of waiting for it to be over.'"