Dyelirium

Ok, I’m not a music reviewer by profession, so don’t expect me to give any deep opinions about production value or sound quality or some pompous why-you-should-listen condescension reminiscent of a Rolling Stone review. That being said, I recently picked up the new Gaslight Anthem release American Slang, and what can I say? It’s pretty awesome.

I was definitely stoked to hear that the Gaslight Anthem was back with new tunes. I really liked The ’59 Sound. It was a good, simple and fun rock record to me. The band’s punk-esque/rockabilly sound and singer/guitarist Brian Fallon’s voice grew on me like moss. I love listening to him tell a story to a bouncy rhythm begging to be blasted on a long drive with the top down.

Although American Slang carries on with much of the same driving energy and superb imagery brought forth in The ’59 Sound, Fallon tells his new tales of nostalgia with just a hint of apathy. The “Ah, good times…” feel is no longer present. American Slang offers vignettes that paint pictures of a past that’s better left behind. It’s time to grow up and let memories fade.

The title track American Slang opens the record with the band’s characteristic pounding rough sound that reeks of radio playability. I mean that in the best possible way. Stay Lucky, however, is where the resonance of a worn down man looking back on his youth seeps through. The melancholy lyrics are draped against a backdrop of music that seems to always want to go faster in a Jim Steinman kind of way: “stop pacing around waiting/for some moment that might never arrive/But you’re never gonna find it/like when you were young/and everybody used to call you lucky”.

Old Haunts, on the other hand, brings front and center what this record is really all about. The rhythm isn’t as fast as it is punishing while driving home the lyric: “don’t sing me your songs about the good times/those days are gone and you should just let ‘em go/God help the man who says if you’d have known me when/ old haunts are for forgotten ghosts”.

The Gaslight Anthem has definitely grown musically and lyrically. They continue to bring something to the table that almost anyone can relate to. Even if the sound isn’t your bag, I think everyone should give it a try and appreciate American Slang for what it has to offer – songs about the everyday emotions that make up everyday lives.

*On a side note – Have you picked up a new release that you love or feel people should know about? Let me know!