Culture Blues

Music: “The Gaslight Anthem” – American Slang

The YouTube generation is too young to know anything important about Bruce Springsteen. I mean, ask any college freshman about the Jersey Shore ,and you are bound to hear details about some extremely tanned people with names like Snooki and The Situation (I feel bad for kids today, too). To be fair, there aren't too many bands out there these days that would even cite The Boss as an influence without being tongue in cheek or ironic (after all, Bruce doesn't wear checkered vans); thus the modern musical landscape has few acts in it with dreams of driving down an American highway with the top down, of neon adorned bars with stale beer permeating the air, and of Saturday nights with your girl and the guys you grew up with. One act that still does manage to live by such an honorable creed is The Gaslight Anthem; E Street Band they are not, but what they are is honest, real, and appreciated.

Born from Jersey punk roots, The Gaslight Anthem came together in 2005 as scene mainstays Benny Horowitz, Alex Rosamilia, Michael Volpe, and frontman Brian Fallon all joined forces (and in some cases swapped instruments/roles) to create a punk outfit with soul and classic rock influences. The band toured the hell out of Jersey, establishing a loyal following that was attracted to Gaslight's melodious and highly singable tunes about ultra-relatable characters from their 'burg. 2007 marked the release of their debut record, Sink or Swim, an album that lacked polish but still managed to expand the group's fanbase and raise their profile. In August of 2008, the band released The '59 Sound, a record that placed their feet firmly on the path to stardom, earning them some serious critical acclaim and the opportunity to share the stage with the aforementioned Mr. Springsteen (talk about dreams coming true).

2010 marks the release of The Gaslight Anthem's third studio record, American Slang; they are poised for a breakout year, and in all honesty, they brought their best effort.

American Slang is exactly what you would expect from The Gaslight Anthem, a record full of 3:00+ tracks full of vitality and energy. The album's first song (and title track) opens with some palm muted power chords that set you up for the sort of classic pentatonic opening riff you have been hearing since you realized your parents music wasn't all that bad. The song moves forward at a great clip as Brian lays down some impassioned (if not terribly inspired) vocals during the verse, which lead to a great pre-chorus and anthemic hook, before bringing back the opening riff. Are they reinventing the wheel? No. Is it a great song to spin off a jukebox? Totally. I would say that most of the songs on American Slang fit that description; this is the kind of music that you want to play at the beach with your mates, or at BBQ's in your yard when you want to get off of the "I only play music no one has ever heard of, or that was recorded on analog" soapbox (I may or may not have ever been on that particular soapbox).

Of course (like most records), some tracks are better than others; Bring It On is a great example of what they are trying to establish with their influence amalgamation, and The Diamond Church Street Choir is an even better hybrid, with a massive chorus and some cute dynamic resets (not to mention a earnest and awesome vocal performance). Old Haunts leans a lot more on London Calling than it does on Born To Run, while still managing to not seem too contrived (I gotta be honest), and in the end it's a pretty solid tune. The most ambitious song on the record is the last number, We Did It When We Were Young (they even cracked the four minute mark), a track that mixes elements of U2 into their whole bar-band/Jersey sound. The closer is a pretty drastic shift, and almost seems a little out of place on the record, but still manages to keep your interest throughout its entirety.

The album does have a couple of soft spots; the band loses focus at times and there a couple of tracks that don't have the same level of quality as the rest. The two most notable examples of sub-par compositions are Orphans and Boxer, both of which come off as a bit lazy and ordinary. Said tracks just seem like they were left over from other sessions and added as filler, but in the end they don't injure the record too severely.

When you are finished listening to your latest post-punk, psychedelic, art-rock project, check out this record and remember that music can be made by real people, singing about real things. Who knows? You might even like it.