The Gaslight Anthem - History Books (October 27th 2023) Album • Page 37

Ok fine. Well here’s another take you will all hate. If I had a GUN to my head and had to pick one I think it might be (ducks) HIGH LONESOME

 

Here’s another take. If you count Once Upon A Time as part of the album (I do) - that song is nowhere near the “worst” on the album either

 

And for my 3rd and final controversial take - the best part of the album is the last 5 songs

Cowgirls
Meet Me
Here’s Looking
Backseats
Once Upon

 

Yeah baby

 

one of those takes is good and the other two are not

 

i enjoy all PHaynes posts. Even the wrong ones

 

I like this.

 

This is my favorite band ever, so I'm gonna go nuts with a bunch of random thoughts after having had the album for about a week:

• Goddamn, I can't believe they're back!
• Goddamn, this album is great
• Goddamn, Alex R's guitar tones are absurd. Love both the searing solos in the rockers and the silky-smooth, slippery solos in the calmer songs. Would love to know what pedals he's using. Also, he's a lot more restrained and selective than usual and this album has a lot of my favorite playing of his across any album.
• I get the complaints about the production, although they don't bother me at this point and I really only notice them on Little Fires, Spider Bites, and maybe a bit on Positive Charge. However, I think it's the mixing choices that are getting to people, because this is actually an immaculately produced album. So much ear candy on here.
• Production flourishes I love: the ping-ponging guitar lead in the Spider Bites choruses. The piano in the second verse of Positive Charge. The third guitar playing slide very quietly in the background at the beginning of Michigan. The piano in the choruses of Michigan. The harmonies! (Best harmonies on a TGA album BY FAR.) The atmosphere created on the quiet songs. Whatever the heck is playing the lead melody on Weatherman. Gorgeous stuff.
• I'm really glad Brian's lyrics are more direct again. They were so abstract and unusual on Get Hurt and I just couldn't connect with much of them. But they're so wistful and emotional and beautiful here. "Time keeps rolling us on," "Love goes longer than this lifetime," "I wanna live, I wanna love you a little longer," "Love doesn't scare me anymore," "I know you'll keep a part of me forever."
• Maybe the fewest lyrical references of any Brian Fallon album? I've only caught the "nobody's darlings" line as a direct reference. (Side note, Brian's hushed vocals and falsetto sound just perfect on Michigan.)
• The closer is fine, if a little underwhelming and unemotional by their standards. I'd put it second-to-last among their closers, above only We Did It When We Were Young, but that really just speaks to how consistently great their closers are. Reminds me of Open All Night off of Painkillers.
• Still can't believe they got Bruce on this thing lol

That's enough for now, I need to go to bed. Seriously love this album.

 

Spider bites feels like classic gaslight

 

Anywhere I can download the album in lossless?

 

Much of this actually reminds me of the balladry on handwritten

 

My first listen, I hit play and didn't realize I was on shuffle. I was curious about the pacing of the album, like "Why did they close with History Books?".

Then realized what I did. So, here's to listening to it in the proper order.

 

Not gonna lie,Gaslight were always one of my favorite bands and I would go crazy for anything Brian Fallon related.

but honestly I’m pretty disappointed haha.it’s a second miss for me after Local Honey.

 

Pretty major reference to Harvest Moon too. Who has others?

 

Too much fucking work to do to listen to this record ugh, they don't know I have more important shit to do today.

I'll check in once I've listened!

 

History Books, The Gaslight Anthem - Qobuz

 

cant believe its here. what a day.

 

Michigan, 1975 into Little Fires is A+ track listing

 

Always kind of knew Brian would fall into writing his own takes on what The National would sound like if they came from Jersey

edit: my early morning brain and this iOS 17 autocorrect really butchered this post lol

 

spider bites chorus feels like a callback to blue jeans and white tshirts

 

after one full listen, this is ok. didnt really do incredibly much for me aside from already really liking MTYK and YDKWYG. I'd say Terrified and Blink Wave were the only two that really made me stop what I was doing to listen to them.

 

huh?????

 

you're in the gaslight thread bud, not the blink thread

 

This is incredible comedy.

 

I make one joke at Murph's expense and y'all swing and miss