25 July 2012
It’s to be expected that The Gaslight
Anthem’s latest offering is knocked up with the same nostalgic tone that
embittered each track on American Slang, but this time frontman Brian Fallon is slightly more content.
After years proffering New Jersey rock (read: aping Bruce
Springsteen), the four-piece have come into their own with a beautifully
crafted fourth release, Handwritten. A welcome relief after the band’s last LP, the acclaimed American Slang,
inspired some to question whether they could build on the sound helmed
by Springsteen, B.B King and The Clash or whether they would twist and
snap the umbilical chord.
The fact the album is their first through a major label is
irrelevant; crafted with handpicked producer Brendan O'Brien (Incubus,
Pearl Jam), the record seems to borrow more from the embryonic intellect
in 2008 breakout album The ’59 Sound than from any desire to dominate radio airwaves. Anthemic tracks like lead single 45 and Howl
pay homage to the formative years of Fallon’s now happily married
relationship; it’s his autobiographical approach and the way he portrays
all of life’s ‘what if’ moments that will draw the listener most,
holding the bar high for what commercial radio should sound like.
Keepsake is reminiscent of going through your
parents' record collection for the first time, its slow-feeding intro
envelops before settling into a chorus that holds a familiar cushion,
even on first listen. Laced with open ended dialogue about fears they
don’t have solutions to, The Gaslight Anthem have beautifully placed
space between the percussion and guitars – a breathing room for one’s
own thoughts to gently interject.
Despite the sing-a-long guitar chords and ‘whoa oh’ repetitions over a few tracks, Handwritten
has been tailored to perfection; elements that would translate as crass
commercialism from lesser bands, comes across as natural and welcome
development. The band will get their mainstream coverage with this
record, but it will have nothing to do with the inked signatures on
Mercury’s authoritative white paper.
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