The Gaslight Anthem debuted with a solid album but really impressed with their sophomore release “The ’59 Sound”. They are returning with a new album in June and obviously the expectations are high. The new album is titled “American Slang” and is filled with high quality alternative rock.
The title track kicks off the collection of 10 songs and it immediately shows why this band is so popular and gets so many good critiques. At the moment they probably rank among the three best alternative rock bands, together with Mumford & Sons and Phoenix. In fact, there are parts of the title track that remind me of Mumford & Sons.
But overall the band keeps that raw, energetic modern rock & roll feel that they do better than anyone else. The uptempo Stay Lucky would make a good single and then they go all out on the rock anthem Bring It On which could very well become a rock classic as time goes by. It is without a doubt one of the best rock songs in the past 5 years.
The album continues strong and the band shows diversity within the genre without gravitating too far from their signature sound. You can hear the band comes from New Jersey as there are absolutely Jersey Beat (Springsteen, etc.) influences (for example on The Diamond Street Choir and Old Haunts) but then they go a little more alternative on songs like Orphans (would be very interesting for fans of Mae, Anberlin and the likes), Boxer which showcases an impressive vocal performance and We Did It When We Were Young which reminds me of U2. And no matter what direction the tend to go they do it as well as any other band, if not better.
“American Slang” is an album that delivers, an album that meets and even surpasses the expectations created by the band’s previous release. It’s an album that solidifies The Gaslight Anthem’s status as one of the very best alternative rock bands of the modern age.
The title track kicks off the collection of 10 songs and it immediately shows why this band is so popular and gets so many good critiques. At the moment they probably rank among the three best alternative rock bands, together with Mumford & Sons and Phoenix. In fact, there are parts of the title track that remind me of Mumford & Sons.
But overall the band keeps that raw, energetic modern rock & roll feel that they do better than anyone else. The uptempo Stay Lucky would make a good single and then they go all out on the rock anthem Bring It On which could very well become a rock classic as time goes by. It is without a doubt one of the best rock songs in the past 5 years.
The album continues strong and the band shows diversity within the genre without gravitating too far from their signature sound. You can hear the band comes from New Jersey as there are absolutely Jersey Beat (Springsteen, etc.) influences (for example on The Diamond Street Choir and Old Haunts) but then they go a little more alternative on songs like Orphans (would be very interesting for fans of Mae, Anberlin and the likes), Boxer which showcases an impressive vocal performance and We Did It When We Were Young which reminds me of U2. And no matter what direction the tend to go they do it as well as any other band, if not better.
“American Slang” is an album that delivers, an album that meets and even surpasses the expectations created by the band’s previous release. It’s an album that solidifies The Gaslight Anthem’s status as one of the very best alternative rock bands of the modern age.