The Gaslight Anthem, American Slang
New Brunswick, NJ
SideOneDummy Records
Release Date: June 15, 2010
By Zandra Ruiz
American Slang is the kind of album that you like at first and love as the play count rises. My experience with The Gaslight Anthem is minimal (actually, nonexistent), but the first time I heard American Slang, I could picture what their shows must be like--beyond sweaty or smelly, but fun. The kind of show you go to with someone you kind of like, someone you’re nervous about dancing in front of, but you dance anyway because the music just makes you. Most of the songs on the album are like that--upbeat, fun. “Queen of Lower Chelsea” and “We Did It When We Were Young” are two exceptions, but they’re enjoyable, and for slow songs, they still keep an obvious beat, like a lowered pulse. The life never leaves the album.
Wikipedia tells me The Gaslight Anthem “embraces many elements of the Jersey Shore sound.” I guess that’s true, but upon first listen, I didn’t associate them with the Jersey Shore at all. They remind me of what an Against Me! song would sound like if it reached middle age, lost the anger and the urgency, and learned to enjoy the seemingly mundane pleasures of life--family, friends, love, and the simple fact of being alive. A lot of my New Brunswick friends have talked to me about The Gaslight Anthem, how they skipped the chance to see them play in our hometown and regretted it now. I can see why. American Slang is great. I didn’t listen to The Gaslight Anthem before, but I do now.
Photo Credit: Ashley Maile
Band Line-Up:
Brian Fallon: lead vocals/guitar
Alex Rosamilia: guitar/backing vocals
Alex Levine: bass/backing vocals
Benny Horowitz: drums/percussion/tambourine
American Slang is available this Tuesday on iTunes with a bonus track, and other online and in-store outlets.
Tracklisting:
1. American Slang
2. Stay Lucky
3. Bring It On
4. Diamond Church Street Choir
5. Queen of Lower Chelsea
6. Orphans
7. Boxer
8. Old Haunts
9. Spirit of Jazz
10. We Did It When We Were Young
Tour Dates:
June 15 CD Release Show @ Irving Plaza, New York, NY (sold out)
Aug 5 @ The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ w/ Frank Turner, William Elliot Whitmore
More tour dates available at www.myspace.com/thegaslightanthem
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