By Louisa Burden
Feature Editor
Band: The Gaslight Anthem Album: American Slang Rating: 5 stars Genre: Alternative Rock Released: June 15, 2010
Are you one of those people who, at the end of the year, glance through a list of albums of the year and you haven’t listened to any of them? Well, you don’t have to be that guy (or girl) this year… just pick up a copy of The Gaslight Anthem’s new album, American Slang and get start listening to what is sure to be topping the lists at the year’s end!
With the phenomenal success of 2008’s The ’59 Sound, The Gaslight Anthem garnered both positive critical reviews and a much larger fanbase. Fans wondered if they would be able to achieve success again with their third full length release, American Slang. Originally formed back in 2005 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the four-piece have certainly managed to repeat their success with this new album.
The ten-track album (or eleven, depending on whether you get the bonus tracks version or the normal version) kicks off with the band’s first single, “American Slang”, which has more mainstream appeal than previous albums or any of other songs on the album. New listeners should also check out “The Spirit of Jazz” and “Old Haunts”, both of which show The Gaslight Anthem at its best.
Trying out a new sound for an entire album is a notoriously risky thing for a band to do. American Slang, however, manages to keep the band’s original punk Springsteen sound while still moving in a newer, more straightforward alternative rock direction. What the band has lost in raw intensity, it has definitely gained in thoughtfulness.
Themes from The ’59 Sound have carried through to this new album, from their lyrics full of ‘50s/‘60s nostalgia to their signature Jersey sound to the rollicking choruses that can be found on nearly every song. The lyrics are perhaps starting to focus a bit more on storytelling than the heartbreak and regret that featured in previous releases, but still retain their clarity and emotional quality.
So, if you want to listen to an album that rocks out but can still appeal to a choosy listener, then The Gaslight Anthem’s American Slang is for you!
