The Gaslight Anthem Band • Page 182

I don’t really understand the need for your original personal criticism in the first place, and people were doing what they wanted....talking about a band they like and the guys who made it (all in a positive manner). If you have an opinion on that I’d be happy to read it. It is a Gaslight forum.

 

Pretty much exactly this. It was just a weird original comment.

 

I really don't think any of us were being out of line here. Yeah, we are speculating, but we're speculating on things he has openly talked about in interviews for years.

Some of us just find it a little bit interesting or discussion worthy or whatever you want to call it that he has insisted so adamantly that Gaslight is over and done with while also mostly putting out music that is very Gaslight-esque.

 

Handwritten is severely underrated.

 

I put it #2 but it’s a closer #2 than you’d think. I have way too many important memories with that album which scores it even higher for me

 

That whole era with all the bsides is really cool and robust. It feels like people rarely talk about the acoustic gems of Hold You Up, Misery, Teenage Rebellion and the Skinny Love (Bon Iver cover) though.

 

Those four songs are very special to me. I was listening to them a couple weeks back and was immediately transported back to when I listened to them non-stop a few months after Handwritten came out. Hod You Up, especially.

 

I was going through quite an awful time in 2012-2013 and Misery/Hold You Up were the songs for me.

 

They’re very haunting songs. I love even Gaslight and Brian’s acoustic stuff has variety.

He’s got some gritty songs like No Weather and Goodnight Irene.

He got some softer sweet songs like Cherry Blossoms and Black Betty and the Moon.

National Anthem is an acoustic ballad.

Red at Night feels like a folk song.

I could keep going. Just love the variety.

 

Red at Night IS a folk song - if you haven’t, go check out Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key by Billy Bragg.

 

Handwritten is one of those albums that brings me back to a very specific place in time whenever I hear it. 59 Sound will always be their "best", but I see Handwritten as the most fleshed-out version of their sound.

 

Sought this one out after the latest Nofx video and what a riot. Come for the NOFX cover but instead enjoy Meatloaf and funny banter:

 

watched that today too for the same reason. great cover

 

Here's what I'll say about Handwritten. It has the largest collection of songs I think to skip when I see coming up next, forget to skip, and wind up JAMMING to. Like, I always forget how much I love Keepsake right up until that first chorus.

 

Keepsake RULES

 

When Brian did Painkillers and Sleepwalkers, I thought to myself, these are basically just as good as Gaslight albums....gave me confidence that even without the band, I would be getting Gaslight-top level stuff from him every few years.

Local Honey, while very good, was just a little too downbeat for me, a little less melody than his other albums. Put another way, I wouldn't put any song from that album into a Brian Fallon top 50.

I don't need every album to rock hard (although one of those at some point would be great too), but I really don't want another Local Honey next. I'm glad I have that album, and I like it a lot, but I don't ADORE IT like the others.

 

Do we have any inkling of what is next? I'm sure he'll put something out this summer or fall.

 

Further - I feel like Local Honey was a whole album worth of Steve McQueen / Honey Magnolia type songs.....I like both of those songs, but neither of them are top 50 songs for me either.....I like those songs in the context of a 12 song album that has other tempos and textures and melody types more than I do in the context of a 9 song of same-sounding songs.

 

I’ve gotten the impression that he doesn’t have anything in the works - that he wasn’t doing music stuff during the pandemic. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t just go on a lengthy tour when he can and we don’t see anything until 2022.

 

The Sittin' Around at Home Felt like it was gathering inspiration from others artists about writing process and and little peer support. As a fan the sooner the better, but I realize he didn't get to tour Local Honey and recoup some album costs.

 

I feel the same way. Like, each individual song on Local Honey is good, and some of them (Vincent, I Don't Mind, Lonely For You Only) are among my favorite tracks he's ever released. But I do feel like that album as a whole is weighed down by a lack of diversity and texture, or mood, or whatever you want to call it - even the similarly mellow Horrible Crowes album had some rockers to balance things out - ut, I suspect that was probably the point. It stands out from the other two in that sense, for better or worse.

 

During one of the live-streams he had made a comment about not doing any kind of music anything during all this, and he was grateful people cared enough to hear Elsie or AS because it gave him something to do. I could be reading too much into that, but it sounded to me like he’d just been doing other stuff. But yeah, obviously I would love something sooner.

 

He still plans to tour LH when he can later this year or next, not expecting anything new from him until at least 2022 or 2023

 

I was out of town the weekend of the Elsie stream and completely forgot to go back to watch it. Thanks for reminding me it exists. Sharing the video for others who haven't seen it yet.

 

Meh, The Gaslight Anthem just needs to get back together. This new project/song misses something pretty big and it’s Brian Fallon and his influence.