I agree this band is becoming a bit formulaic, but I don't hear much of a qualitative difference among the three albums. Did this band ever have a sense of humor? I don't remember chuckling at any of their previous songs. Either way, that's not something that I care about at all (big Radiohead stan here).
― musicfanatic, Sunday, 29 July 2012 00:06 (9 months ago) Permalink
i agree that the last 3 albums really very nearly equal -- i was just saying being consistent, while it can be enjoyable, can set a band up to get some pretty paint-by-numbers reviews
― Nutri Grane (some dude), Sunday, 29 July 2012 04:11 (9 months ago) Permalink
Finally bought this. I didn't love American Slang at first either, but this is seriously growing on me.
― Tantrum The Cat, Sunday, 29 July 2012 11:29 (9 months ago) Permalink
('59 Sound is easily my fave rock album of the last five years, btw.)
― Tantrum The Cat, Sunday, 29 July 2012 11:30 (9 months ago) Permalink
but this is seriously growing on me
^ this
― Mordy, Sunday, 29 July 2012 15:03 (9 months ago) Permalink
I would more or less describe all three albums the same way, but I think the quality of the songs on "59 Sound" and "American Slang" are superior. I haven't made it through a listen of the new one yet that didn't make me wish I was listening to one of the other ones instead. Does not make the new one bad, per se, but I definitely think it inferior, and not just because it is more of the same.
Don't think the idea is that the band was ever funny, just that a glimmer of humor or wit could be a nice way to shake things up without really changing much, sonically. On its face Gaslight Anthem does not seem any more conservative than, say, Lucero, but Lucero seems a little less beholden to a specific template. But it's not like I'm writing off Gaslight Anthem at all. I'm curious to hear if the group ever grows beyond the sum of its (wonderful, exciting, anthemic, etc.) cliches.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 29 July 2012 15:28 (9 months ago) Permalink
Right, I feel like where Lucero asks the girl to dance cause they're downtown and drunk and it's Friday, Gaslight asks the girl to dance ~for redemption~. that's part of what I like about them, but 4 records without much of a wink gets kinda staid.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 29 July 2012 17:21 (9 months ago) Permalink
"here comes my man" is becoming my favorite on this. i think taking a different voice - something, as we alluded to upthread, that fallon does infrequently - really opens him up on this song. lines like "and i'll never let you drop another tear in my eye" and "don't you think i knew about all your pretty girlfriends" affect partly because of just how unusual they are.
― ticagrelor rotini (k3vin k.), Saturday, 11 August 2012 04:15 (9 months ago) Permalink
― ticagrelor rotini (k3vin k.), Saturday, 11 August 2012 04:18 (9 months ago) Permalink
seeing these guys in philly in november @ electric factory. pretty excited actually - especially if they play older stuff and not just new material
― Mordy, Sunday, 14 October 2012 22:50 (7 months ago) Permalink
when i saw them a lil while ago they played stuff from all four records, it was p rad
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 15 October 2012 00:57 (7 months ago) Permalink
yeah i think one benefit of them having figured out their sound from the get-go is that they seem to mix the old and the new pretty seamlessly. plus i think they know no matter how big they get The 59 Sound is gonna be the record that they need to give people a certain amount of songs from every night.
― flaming goon pie included (some dude), Monday, 15 October 2012 01:07 (7 months ago) Permalink
show was excellent!
― Mordy, Wednesday, 28 November 2012 14:31 (5 months ago) Permalink
i noticed that a lot of their lyrics include some variation of the words "sad songs"
― Mordy, Wednesday, 28 November 2012 14:32 (5 months ago) Permalink
i was also sad bc no "lucky" or "american slang." lots of other great songs tho including 'blood bank' and 'just like heaven' covers. 'too much blood' and 'handwritten' were huge too -> over capacity electric factory crowd, philly seems to be huge gaslight anthem fans
― Mordy, Wednesday, 28 November 2012 14:35 (5 months ago) Permalink
oh yeah, and astro zombies cover!
i was sort of shocked at how many frat types appeared at their last show
have they always been a fratty band and i just didn't notice with my headphones at home
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 29 November 2012 05:24 (5 months ago) Permalink
i had tickets to monday night in boston but couldn't go :(
― liljon /bia/ bia (k3vin k.), Thursday, 29 November 2012 05:26 (5 months ago) Permalink
'handwritten' would probably be epic live
rly
― mookieproof, Thursday, 29 November 2012 06:17 (5 months ago) Permalink
DEFINITELY a fratty band.
just not my thing, I guess. i'm not big on the Americana sound
― everythingsgross, Thursday, 29 November 2012 07:55 (5 months ago) Permalink
i mean on thought their presence made a lot of sense and i'm not really sure what sort of crowd i expected--*a room full of haunted-eye moleskine clutchers* or whatever--but it struck me as incongruous somehow
can't really finger why
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 30 November 2012 04:53 (5 months ago) Permalink
"45" crossed over to hard rock radio a little bit, they are on a major label now, etc. the whole reason indie's been running from anthemic guitar bands the last x years is "man i didn't know there were gonna be baseball caps at this show"
― trinidad jokes (some dude), Friday, 30 November 2012 12:11 (5 months ago) Permalink
i think maybe it's bcz the bruce influence codes as 'blue collar' to me--though obv that's a whole thing to unpack as like obv not every dad fist pumping at the staples center to darkness on the edge of town is a dust farmer by day--and hollister definitely does not code as blue collar to me
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, 1 December 2012 03:20 (5 months ago) Permalink
shit collar
― buzza, Saturday, 1 December 2012 03:28 (5 months ago) Permalink
sure
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Saturday, 1 December 2012 03:35 (5 months ago) Permalink