I will admit that I’m prone to falling in love with bands easily.
I was late on the Gaslight Anthem train. I really didn’t pay them any mind until about a year ago when Bruce (Springsteen, for those of you completely outside of the Krissie world) got on stage with them at Glastonbury. To me, that’s a big nod to your rock n’ roll prowess. I bought The ’59 Sound. I liked it. But it wasn’t love at first listen.
A few weeks ago, the band released their newest album, American Slang. Um, big crush after the first run through it. Over the past ten days, I’ve driven a bit. 1,300 miles, give or take. I listened to a lot of music. But American Slang is the only album that got the repeat plays. Blared “Diamond Street Church Choir.” Widows down, sunroof open, full-on sing along to “Orphans.” A little air guitar on “Queen of Lower Chelsea.” Hit the back button to listen to “Stay Lucky” three times in a row.
This is a sign of me falling in love, my friends. So much in love that I’m willing to post a marketing gimmick to get an acoustic track of one of their songs. Doesn’t hurt that they are Jersey boys, either.
I’m not going to attempt a review…I suck at them. The fine people over at Paste Magazine don’t, though. And they pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one.
“The Gaslight Anthem may not be the final answer to any bigger question, but they send you out into the night with your heart slamming and your fingers rapping the steering wheel and plenty of gas in the tank.”
Just buy the record. You won’t be disappointed.
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