Short version: The American Slang replaces The ’59 Sound. Every single song begs to end up on Rock Band, or playing on the radio, were any still not owned by Clear Channel. It could also be titled the Alex Rosamilla Compendium Of Instantly Memorable Riffs. We’ll get to that later.

Like all of their discs, THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM is traditional enough that buying the thing on vinyl just feels, somehow, right, as if the mp3s are concession to the culture and year that the album must be released in, as if that heartless bastard, Time, must be appeased. Have the songs themselves been talked around enough? Look, man, the differences between The ’59 Sound and this one, lyrically, is that there’s mentions of New York City’s boroughs, everything is just a little bit sharper, a little bit more vivid, the little “T”s crossed and the little “I”s almost imperceptibly dotted.

Let’s make an odd comparison: HATEBREED. I’ll explain. Perseverance and the Rise Of Brutality were records that were incredibly similar, to the point where punkrocks.net (sadly defunct) when reviewing the Rise of Brutality simply took their Perseverance review and changed the name of the CD. The ’59 Sound and American Slang are that close in terms of sound and style, with the latter benefiting from two additional years of internal scrutiny and overcoming the battle of high expectations.

American Slang does more than overshadow The ’59 Sound, American Slang replaces it. They’re both cut from the same post-SPRINGSTEEN bluesy/soul using rock-as a-vehicle cloth, but American Slang is cut more deftly. There’s no drag on the disc, where I could point out a couple places on The ’59 Sound that were carried through on enthusiasm. The guitars on here simply never give you a reason to drift away.

Brian Fallon sounds confident on this record and it’s manifested in “The Diamond Street Choir”. As part of the chorus, he sings “who does it better than we do” as if daring the listener to name jazz and soul artists they’re aping on the song. Track nine, “The Spirit of Jazz” is a flawlessly executed roots-rock song about being young people in love in a wintry city. After the track finished, I simply had to hear the chorus again. And again. And again. (“The Spirit of Jazz” never mentions snow or being cold once, by the way. Turns out American Slang was recorded in a New York City December. That’s how expressive the music is.) “Boxer” is the standout for that first single and it’s about a kid getting back on their feet after physical abuse by parents.

I’ve already listened to American Slang sixty times – maybe more. I’ll probably listen to it another sixty by the end of the year. I’ve listened to it another eight times just in trying to write the end of the review.

Maybe it’s the sign of how cohesive and well done the entire record sounds that the phrase that comes to my mind is je ne sais quoi, the instantly recognizable French chestnut meaning something intangible that is the mark of distinctiveness. I don’t know what it is about THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM, but Brian Fallon’s unabashed love for classic American themes (young man v. “the factory” and the small town) should irritate me on paper, but more than The ’59 Sound, the music still captivates my ears. It’s a feeling worth paying for.

SideOneDummy