The Gaslight Anthem - 'Handwritten' Review

Handwritten proves to be an incredibly appropriate title for the latest album from the Gaslight Anthem. Like a diary entry or a personal note, there’s an immediate, emotional intimacy to the record that makes the songs feel as if they were pulled directly from the heart, without self-editing or second thoughts. Consequently, Handwritten’s capital-letter sentiments and unsubtle bar-band hooks may not have lots of layers to them, but they hit you with a blunt force that’s hard to deny.

On Handwritten, the band’s first album since 2010’s American Slang, the Gaslight Anthem work with producer Brendan O’Brien, a pairing that makes perfect sense. Previously, O’Brien has been behind the boards for records by Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam, and like those artists, the New Jersey quartet make songs that aspire to be anthems of hope and perseverance. Likewise, Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon sings his tunes with an earnest, barrel-chested fervor that recalls Springsteen’s working-class urgency and Eddie Vedder’s wounded anger. Handwritten doesn’t reach the heights of those two acts’ highlight moments -- there’s still something a tad generic in the Gaslight Anthem’s delivery -- but the album’s indomitable catchiness and muscular melodies help get the band a little closer to their heroes.

The world of Handwritten is populated by noble regular guys trying to win the love of a good girl who’s just out of reach. Additionally, there’s a romanticized, nostalgic sense of courtship that pervades the record, evoking the sweeping adolescent melodrama of Springsteen’s Born to Run. This approach may be somewhat hokey and self-conscious, like on the searching “Mae,” but on the whole, the band’s tunes justify the music’s bold strokes, resulting in an album in which the pursuit of love feels positively stirring and heroic. The album finds its groove from the opening track, “45,” a rocking salute to a broken heart that’s explored through the metaphor of an old 45 rpm record with its separate sides. By leading off with a track that name-checks an antiquated musical medium, the Gaslight Anthem establish themselves as proudly retro, emphasizing the old and the familiar over the uncertainty of the present. These guys are happy to be out of step with the times, which gives Fallon’s sincere vocals a weary dignity that’s largely missing in contemporary rock.

In keeping with Handwritten’s lyrical directness, the songs declare themselves from the first few seconds, guitars and drums quickly locking together to deliver potent, tight tunes. (Only three of the album’s 11 songs stretch beyond four minutes.) It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that the material hits you all at once. “Here Comes My Man” is a rousing tune about a young lady who finally walks out on her no-good boyfriend. “Too Much Blood” may be weighed down by a few clichéd lines (“Now, I am no angel/But I got nothing to hide”), but it’s an intriguing examination of the danger of being too honest in one’s music, which provokes Fallon to sing to his lover, “If I just tell the truth/Are there only lies left for you?” Even when Handwritten turns down the volume for the acoustic ballad “National Anthem,” which closes the record, there’s an immediacy that grabs you instantly. You couldn’t say that Fallon is a particularly insightful lyricist -- his stab for the poetic can sometimes be rather awkward -- but the depth of feeling in his words makes them touch the heart nonetheless.

When the Gaslight Anthem started out in the late 2000s, they bridged the gap between rock and punk, playing the tough guys with a barely concealed tender side. Now with Handwritten, they demonstrate the latest step in their evolution to become an unbridled rock group: tight, lean, gushing with emotion without succumbing to the self-pity of indie outfits. But while O’Brien polishes their sound, there’s still scrappiness in the Gaslight Anthem in the way they barrel through “Handwritten” or ride the punk-lite rhythm of “Desire.” On Handwritten, the band members wear their hearts on their sleeve, declaring their love not just to their gal but also to a stripped-down, unfussy style of rock music that’s not much in fashion anymore. For their fans, the most exciting thing about the new album is that, as strong as it is, the Gaslight Anthem still have room for improvement.

'Handwritten' - Best Tracks:

“45” (Purchase/Download)
“Here Comes My Man” (Purchase/Download)
“Keepsake” (Purchase/Download)
“National Anthem” (Purchase/Download)
“Too Much Blood” (Purchase/Download)

Release date – July 24, 2012
Mercury