SPRINGSTEEN.
It would have been an exercise in soul-crushing failure to try to make this review free of any mention of Bruce. Believe me, I was going to try. I wanted to write a fresher review than any of those that you can find at the other outlets and leave out all E Street references. Turns out, it’s fucking impossible.
It is impossible to review The Gaslight Anthem’s third full-length release, “American Slang,” without mentioning the Boss, Joe Strummer, Van Morrison, etc. So I will. But that’s ok. The Gaslight Anthem’s music will likely always be inextricably tied to the influence of their heroes. Everybody’s going to need to find a way to deal with that. But on “American Slang” the band have found a way to pay homage to the legends while stepping out from under their shadows. This new release moves beyond mere adoration of the greats characteristic of the earlier “The ’59 Sound” and “Sink or Swim.” With “American Slang,” The Gaslight Anthem proves that they have a voice and style of their own.
While “American Slang” runs a little longer than 30 minutes, each track is epic in scope. Brian Fallon’s ability to turn every song into an anthem gives some weight to an otherwise short offering. It’s slower, more rock, less punk, and overall more rounded and fulfilling than their earlier releases. While GA seem to have found a niche all their own, they still manage to shout-out their influences.
American Slang, the first single, is a celebration of the power of the rock on the airwaves. The Diamond Church Street Choir nods to the marriage of later rock- doo-wop and the swingin’ mysticism of Van Morrison. The Queen of Lower Chelsea is pure Clash. Bring It On got some Ronnie Spector Whoa-Oh-Oh-Oh-Ohs. The album’s highlight – the one-two combo of Orphans and Boxer –features stripped-down power-myths that invoke – none other — the Patron Saint of New Jersey.
While the foundations of the GA’s music are all too evident, the obviousness of those foundations enhance the experience of “American Slang.” The presence of those influences gives the piece some context. The ultimate theme of “American Slang” seems to be Nostalgia – nostalgia with all its shortcomings and saving graces. Nostalgia for that rock n’ roll promise of a better life, a better world, a better experience, cooler stuff, that Bruce, Strummer and company have been stomping and yelling about all along. This album isn’t just another clichéd, “gimme back the old days” empty cry. It’s the worship of rock n’ roll – in their own words.
Popularity: 2% [?]
