Gaslight Anthem

The Gaslight Anthem are an up-and-coming New Jersey rock band whose yearning, romantic spirit gets them compared to another Garden State native, Bruce Springsteen. And while there are some thematic similarities between this quartet and the Boss, the Gaslight Anthem's punk-influenced sound helps separate their songs from his bar-band aesthetic.

The Gaslight Anthem got together in 2005. The band members - frontman/guitarist Brian Fallon, guitarist Alex Rosamilia, bassist Alex Levine and drummer Benny Horowitz - all grew up around New Brunswick, New Jersey, and they were all members of separate bands before deciding to form the Gaslight Anthem. Within a very short amount of time, the band were touring and signed to an indie label, XOXO.

The Gaslight Anthem released their first album, Sink or Swim, in 2007. In keeping with its title, Sink or Swim displayed an urgent, manic desperation that complemented the diamond-in-the-rough quality of the band's unvarnished songs. Fallon's vocals had a gritty earnestness, and the group's crude, potent musicianship exhibited traces of punk, indie rock and country. While it was not a sterling debut, Sink or Swim offered a sonic blueprint for what the band wanted to achieve.

After releasing the four-track EP Senor and the Queen, the Gaslight Anthem returned with the full-length The '59 Sound in 2008. Blessed with more time in the studio and better songs, the Gaslight Anthem started to reveal their full potential, producing a rollicking mix of youthful optimism and tight rock/punk song structures. The Springsteen comparisons persisted, but if anything, Fallon's melodic, soulful vocals just as often called to mind Killers frontman Brandon Flowers' singing style. Regardless, The '59 Sound reflected the sound of a band whose confidence and recordmaking skill had grown exponentially.

The Gaslight Anthem announced they would release their next album, American Slang, on June 15, 2010.

Gaslight Anthem Lineup:

Brian Fallon - vocals, guitar
Benny Horowitz - drums
Alex Levine - bass
Alex Rosamilia - guitar

Essential Gaslight Anthem Songs:

"Boomboxes and Dictionaries" (Purchase/Download)
"I'da Called You Woody, Joe" (Purchase/Download)
"The '59 Sound" (Purchase/Download)
"Old White Lincoln" (Purchase/Download)
"Miles Davis & the Cool" (Purchase/Download)

Sink or Swim (2007)
Senor and the Queen (EP) (2008)
The '59 Sound (2008)
American Slang (2010)

Gaslight Anthem Quotes:

Brian Fallon, on how the Gaslight Anthem write songs.
"We all kind of work it out. There's like the basic structures and I'll come in with a song and everybody else turns it into what it becomes … There's a lot of ideas we talk about outside of the practice room and then when we go in there, it just kind of happens. So we don't have to ever talk. It's weird." (PunkBands.com, February 26, 2008)

Brian Fallon, on the Gaslight Anthem's debt to Bruce Springsteen.
"Dude, we totally ripped Bruce off. We actually live pretty close to where he lives, and uh, every once in a while he'll show up in these random bars, and we've met him before. He's like the raddest dude in the world. He's totally normal and not weird at all." (Racket, March 2, 2008)

Brian Fallon, on the meaning behind the band's name.
"There was a club in New York in the '60s that Dylan played at and all these young folk artists and so that's where it came from. The main point was that they weren't famous and they were all sharing their ideas. So we were like, 'Gaslight, hrm, anthem, hrm.' The collective idea of that, that's us." (PunkBands.com, February 26, 2008)

Brian Fallon, asked to describe the Gaslight Anthem's "sound and vibe" in three words.
"Blue Collared Soul." (Gibson.com, March 13, 2009)

Gaslight Anthem Trivia:

• The Gaslight Anthem song "I'da Called You Woody, Joe" is the band's salute to Joe Strummer of the Clash.
• Sink of Swim was recorded in less than two weeks.
• Brian Fallon lists as his influences Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits and Bob Dylan.