The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang

 

For the past few years, The Gaslight Anthem have gathered momentum mining classic rock standards – such as Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty – and retooling the formula for a punk-informed audience. While lacking the immediacy of 2008’s semi-breakthrough, The 59 Sound, American Slang sees this New Jersey quartet changing little of that particular blueprint. Sure, the New Jersey foursome still put their back into pop-rock melody and an anthemic chorus, though they’re strangely without that first-hit-will-hook-you quality of their previous offerings. What results is a few nuggets of stand-out material – such as the 60s R&B-inspired Diamond Church Street Choir and Boxer, which starts off with a schoolyard-style chant – surrounded by deep cuts and a couple of jammed-out, though slightly uninspired, barn-burners. Certain songs find the group flirting dangerously close to Killers territory, making one wonder if the presence of more mid-tempo, stadium-ready lighter-lifters might be a more cynical move to commandeer commercial airwaves. [Jason Morton]