Until I heard the first chords of ‘Great Expectations’ I’d never heard a single note of The Gaslight Anthem. I’ve read A LOT about this band, reading pages and pages and pages of gushing praise for them on PT alone, although I found that punknews, alternative press, pastepunk and pretty much every zine out there thinks the same thing. And if they’re all to be believed, this record is going to be the album that breaks them big. Like mainstream big in the same way The Hold Steady have done.
Remember I’ve read all this without hearing a single note. Also remember I’ve gone on record as saying I’ve been very uninspired by music in recent months as bands regurgitate the same old nonsense and rehashing the same old trends. To potentially hear a band to freshen up my musical outlook was a very exciting prospect indeed.
I cannot compare this record to any other the band have done. But I know I took an instant liking to them. Every song here is a winner. The Gaslight Anthem sound like Bruce Springsteen meets Lucero meets Alkaline Trio meets The Replacements. There’s a country feel, a rock and roll feel, a punk rock feel and a feeling of soul all rolled up into one. ‘Miles Davis and The Cool’ is a huge song, as is the opening ‘Great Expectations’ and the album’s title track. There’s an instant feeling of hope – this is a very uplifting and positive record, full of very catchy hooks and singalong songs. The choppy ‘Casanova, Baby!’ is such a fun song, led by a cool guitar riff and a chorus as catchy as I’ve heard. But there’s a genuine honesty and likeability about this band that I haven’t heard in quite some time. It’s almost like I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that makes the band stand out quite as much as they do, but I know they have ‘it’.
I’ve just ordered the band’s back catalogue on CD. I haven’t bought a CD since, well, I can’t remember. And that’s all the praise you need…