In the Straight Up, No Muss world of The Gaslight Anthem, there are two types of fan. The GA devotees who quite forcibly stress that the punky rhythms of The 59 Sound changed their lives back in 2008 and the rest of us, who probably only remember the New Jersey rockers as the blokes who coaxed the Boss up on stage with them at last year’s Glasto. With their heart-thumping third record American Slang, presumably the idea is to converge the two groups.
Title-track ‘American Slang’ gets things off to a gruff but melodic start. ‘Orphan’ is the most anthemic of the new tracks, while ‘The Spirit Of Jazz’ bears the most furious cow punk beat. Closer ‘We Did It When We Were Young’, on the other hand, is a highly emotional affair that’ll chime through the corridors of your creaking brain for years to come.
This time round, Brian Fallon’s throaty vocals veer between The River-era Brucie and Joshua Tree-era Bono (uncannily so on ‘Bring It On’), with the ballsy frontman even polishing off a touch of Van Morrison swing on ‘The Diamond Church Street Choir’. As per usual, Fallon and Co. are operating on a system of “check your MP3 age-influences at the door”.
I’m not confident that American Slang – big on heart but small on experimentation – will earn these Princes of punk any new fans on this side of the pond. Who cares? The Gaslight Anthem may not have dipped their toes in any new waters but thankfully, American Slang is pleasantly and effortlessly familiar.