After 2008’s breakthrough album, ‘The ’59 Sound’, The Gaslight Anthem found themselves pigeonholed as Springsteen wannabes. Sure, he’s a huge inspiration and the band quoted a few of The Boss’ lyrics on that record, but they’re equally as infl uenced by punk and soul - previous lyrical citations include Sam Cooke, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan and The Clash. Still, with this year’s sublime third eff ort, ‘American Slang’, the band decided it was time to move away from all of that. “There are no quotes on this record,” explains singer Brian Fallon. “This is our record. It’s not Bruce’s record, it’s not Bob Dylan’s record. It’s ours, the record we made on our own.”
Best Bit: Closing song ‘We Did It When We Were Young’’s soft, slow sadness, which leaves the door wide open for the future.
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Read The Gaslight Anthem's essay for Clash on airplane bathrooms HERE.
Read Clash's album review of 'American Slang' HERE.