Alex Levine (Bass) Brian Fallon (Voice/Guitar) Benny Horowitz (Drums) Alex Rosamilia (Guitar)
SOUND LIKE Rock 'n Roll + Blues + Soul +Punk
FORMED IN 2005 / New Brunswick, New Jersey (EUA)
CURRENT LABEL SideOneDummy Records
LINKS Website MySpace Twitter Facebook
When I was a kid, I wanted to play guitar and sing songs, and have people receive them into their lives... I thank Jesus for letting me do that. B. Fallon
DISCOGRAPHY
Sink or Swim (2007 : XoXo Records)
Sink or Swim, the New Jersey-based quartet's debut LP, is the type of record that most young bands wish they could create to launch their musical career. For a group of guys with such diverse backgrounds in styles like folk, blues, metal, hardcore and punk, the overall output is an album rich in melody, hooks and overall well-crafted song arrangements (...) This is one of those incredible albums that leaves you wanting more, knowing what the band is capable of, yet still introducing themselves with an amazing starting point.
in Punknews.org
Señor and the Queen (2008 : Sabot Productions) 4-song EP
They've created a reflection of what they've accomplished prior, capturing not only the spirit and sound of Sink or Swim but also putting that album's sound into context while building on it. Musically, Señor and the Queen, while not a complete change in direction from Sink or Swim, takes the band in a new, bolder direction. Fallon's lyrics are by and large the best part of every Gaslight Anthem song. Of course, it helps that they are accompanied by great music, but his words read like a 1970s-era Springsteen transplanted to the present day mixed with tales of a road-tired touring band. His lyrics create romantic tales of characters so sincere in their emotions (especially love) that you'd think they were fictional if you weren't so sure he was speaking from the heart.
in Punknews.org
The '59 Sound (2008 : SideOneDummy Records)
Singles:
The '59 Sound
Old White Lincoln
Great Expectations
The Backseat
The ’59 Sound offers more poetically told tales of love, dancing, driving and girls called Maria, set against the quaint American rock’n’roll backdrop that band have been constructing throughout their previous two releases. The context is so delicately assembled so as the music instantly conjures up cinematic imagery of rural Americana, complete with cowboys, river banks, roadside diners, plaid shirts and ferris wheels. Fallon’s lyrics are, again, the highlight of the album, and the most crucial attribute in the band’s ability to create the nostalgic atmosphere which surrounds every song they make. It’s a talent which shines on throughout both the morbid and joyful songs, and often reads like poetry. The album has continued the softer tone that was displayed on the Señor and the Queen EP, with Fallon preferring to display and develop a soulful vocal style instead of the raw punk rock vocals occasionally employed on earlier songs.
in Punknews.org
Live at Park Ave. (2010 : SideOneDummy Records) Live 6-song EP
Recorded while on tour with Rise Against, Thrice and Alkaline Trio.
American Slang (2010 : SideOneDummy Records)
Singles:
American Slang
Their ruminations of drive-ins and days much simpler are as much rooted in Americana as their idol Bruce Springsteen, their style rooted as much in punk rock and soul as the golden era of rock ‘n’ roll. However intangible the phrase may be, that feel-good spirit is present in each of the album’s 10 songs and is a primary reason that the album as a whole is such a joy. It’s the same feel-good spirit that has been a source of success for everyone from Chuck Berry to Joe Strummer to Bruce Springsteen, and every single Gaslight Anthem inspiration in between. It’s not just musical sensibilities of the '50s and '60s that the Gaslight Anthem capture so well. It’s not just the lyrical connections they establish between American culture and the intrapersonal relationships that make day-to-day life what it is. It’s not just the toe-tapping rhythms and "whoa-oh" choruses. It’s more than all of that.
in Punknews.org
The Gaslight Anthem, in the truest sense of the phrase, is the soul of rock ‘n’ roll. Punknews.org
VIDEOGRAPHY
Drive (from 2007 Sink or Swim)
The '59 Sound (from 2008 The '59 Sound)
Old White Lincoln (from 2008 The '59 Sound)
Great Expectations (from 2008 The '59 Sound)
American Slang (from 2010 American Slang)
And you took it all gracefully on the chin, knowing that the beating has to someday end, you found bandages inside the pen and stitches on the radio...
B. Fallon, Boxer, in American Slang
Opinião pessoal:
Quando descobri esta banda por acaso em 2008, por alturas do The '59 Sound, senti uma enorme pena de não a ter conhecido aquando do lançamento do primeiro álbum ou da sua formação, porque acompanhar o crescimento de uma banda assim dever ser, no mínimo, excitante.
Tendo então devorado o primeiro álbum e o seguinte EP, The '59 Sound tornou-se facilmente o melhor álbum de 2008 na minha opinião, e num dos 3 melhores álbuns que alguma vez ouvi sendo que ainda hoje me arrepio e emociono quando o ouço.
Quando soube da entrada em estúdio para a gravação do American Slang senti um misto de medo com ansiedade, porque sair um álbum novo desta banda é algo que provoca ansiedade em qualquer apreciador, e ao mesmo tempo medo pelo risco que não ser tão bom ou melhor que o anterior. Pois bem, mais uma vez superaram as minhas expectativas e digo desde já que será difícil algum lançamento superar este como "O" lançamento de 2010 para mim. É igual e diferente dos outros ao mesmo tempo, é The Gaslight Anthem, uma das três bandas que considero indispensáveis no meu dia-a-dia.
Senhoras e senhores, apresento-vos a melhor banda de Rock da actualidade.
