BLACK VINYL

With their hearts on their sleeves and their feet planted firmly in the garden state, the Gaslight Anthem’s third album, American Slang, plays out like an offering to Springsteen, the patron saint of heartland rock. The feeling on this album is considerably more relaxed. All of the punk rock tension and urgency have been replaced by a more patient and heartfelt mood. This change of pace really gives the listener the ability to sit back and take in the scenery on their musical Rust Belt road trip, making for a more moody, understated experience. There are still a few uptempo rockers on the album, with “Stay Lucky” and “The Spirit of Jazz” bringing back some of the speed that old fans might be used to. The rest of the album works in more of a midtempo space, giving singer Brian Fallon’s weathered voice room to work, allowing him to really dig in and make the best use of the laid-back melody on “Bring It On” and the spaciousness of “We Did It When We Were Young.” The prevailing feeling throughout this album is that American Slang represents a more mature sound from the Gaslight Anthem, showing us a band that has grown up enough to start attempting to fill the shoes of their influences.

A1        American Slang
A2        Stay Lucky
A3        Bring It On
A4        The Diamond Church Street Choir
A5        The Queen Of Lower Chelsea
B1        Orphans
B2        Boxer
B3        Old Haunts
B4        The Spirit Of Jazz
B5        We Did It When We Were Young