In a nod to good music and the new album from Marc Cohn, I thought a little update from my own personal listening booth for August was in order. I’ve been a little out of touch in terms of posting new videos and music reviews, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been checking out what’s new out there.
The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
If there is a better straight-up rock-n-roll band right now than The Gaslight Anthem, I haven’t found them. I have been listening to the American Slang album on repeat for a while and I keep finding new reasons to love it. The music is straightforward, in your face, honest rock and roll, the lyrics are wonderful tributes to the simple themes of youth, regret, love, and working-class life, and the production is perfectly NOT overdone, letting Brian Fallon’s vocals carry the full weight of the songs.
Rolling Stone wonderfully wrote “the band’s tough-as-leather rush is as hard as ever, and Fallon howls so hard, he sounds like he’s aiming to get a section of the Jersey Turnpike named after him.” For Fallon, who grew up near E Street and idolizes Bruce Springsteen, that’s high praise. I couldn’t agree more, but where Rolling Stone finds some chops slightly forced and “reaching for meaning just beyond [his] fingertips,” I find yearning songs and stories whose characters are utterly relatable.
You want an album that will make you seriously think about getting that old muscle car back in shape and showing up to your high-school reunion blasting music from the speakers? This is it. I caught The Gaslight Anthem at San Jose’s Music in the Park concert series in late July and the energy from their show was awesome so if you get a chance to catch them at a town near you, don’t miss out.
