Aug. 01, 2012 - Issue #876: The Art Of Serving
Handwritten
Gaslight Anthem {recordings_bands_mg} Handwritten {/recordings_bands_mg}
Mercury,
3
New Jersey's Gaslight Anthem has been on an upswing for a few years now, with lead man Brian Fallon growing steadily as a songwriter and gaining fans like the most famous guy from Jersey who's not Jon Bon Jovi or a fictional gangster. And it's all been deserved, too, as Fallon wrapped his heart up in the characters who populated his songs. With Handwritten the band has made the jump to a major label, picked up a pretty major producer in Brendan O'Brien (who's been behind the boards for Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam, among many others), and Fallon called on his bandmates to contribute more to the songwriting lest the group simply end up the backing for the singer's solo project. There's a shift in Fallon's lyrical approach as well, as he turns the spotlight on himself more than he has in the past, at one point asking, "What can I keep for myself if I tell you my hell? / What would be left to take to my grave? / And what's left for you, my lover to save? / What's left for only you to take?".The result of all this change is not a particularly revolutionary Gaslight Anthem record, though. Right off the album's opening the band is tight as it runs carefully through a couple of songs that sound very much like songs that could have been leftovers from the previous disc. There's nothing wrong with them, but there feels like a stunted progression with the band running through the Gaslight motions instead of heading off on a new trip as they've done with each preceding release. When the band does stretch out on Handwritten, it sounds less like a progression of the Gaslight Anthem's songwriting and more like the players are channeling some of their influences: specifically, both "Keepsake" and "Too Much Blood" sound a lot like the Gaslight Anthem doing Pearl Jam doing Neil Young & Crazy Horse.
Not that any of that is bad. It's ridiculous to put pressure on an artist to constantly reinvent themselves. The songs will spill out as they come, and even if Handwritten hasn't gone far from American Slang, Fallon and his bandmates have crafted a solid album. Perhaps the most interesting part of this record, however, is in the questions it raises about the band's future. Will this become the norm for the Gaslight Anthem? Will they be satisfied to hold the ship steady and settle into a familiar sound? Or will they follow Neil Young's famous turn after he'd found the comfort of Harvest and then decided to head for the ditch where he felt he could make more interesting music? It will be interesting to follow along and see if there's a Tonight's the Night or On the Beach in the band's future.
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