 
Holding up their workaholic form strongly The
Gaslight Anthem are gearing up to release their
fifth studio album ‘Get Hurt’ which
also happens carry on the bands ratio of releasing
a new album every two years however this time
around things are slightly different as whilst
writing and recording the album Brain Fallon was
going through a divorce with his wife of ten years
which helps explain the album title ‘Get
Hurt’ and the upside down heart which graces
the very basic album artwork.
Over the years most critics have been keen to
compare The Gaslight Anthem to The Boss Bruce
Springsteen whilst also stating how each Gaslight
Anthem album sounds like a copy of their last
album which in my eyes is not negative at all
as each and every album that The Gaslight Anthem
has released has been top stuff and crammed with
killer sing-a-long stadium anthems however for
Brain Fallon and co they have gone out of their
way to make sure ‘Get Hurt’ sounds
different from their previous albums and it is
a big gamble for the band considering they are
now signed to a new label ‘Island Records’
and have just announced their first ever UK arena
tour.
The album opens with the lead single ‘Get
Vicious’ and straight away you pick up the
vibe that The Gaslight Anthem are still doing
what they have always done and loved but at the
same time they are also mixing things up as the
song is a lot harder and edgier than anything
the band have done before, lyrically things are
well written and quite personal to get Brian Fallon
has he sings out “Well I feel just like
a stranger I don’t sleep at all anymore
and the arms that used to hold me well now they
done me harm and I feel just like a murderer and
I feel just like a gun I’ve been shaking
in the hand of somebody who’s finally had
enough” with his vocals sounding more grittier
than ever before.
‘1,000 Years’ opens with a majorly
bouncy bass line and flows like any classic Gaslight
Anthem song and when the chorus kicks in you serious
know about it as the Gaslight Anthem go own a
massive melodic sing-a-long route which oozes
in beauty.
Album title track and single ‘Get Hurt’
starts off very dark and deep sounding and when
the song finally springs to life at the 59second
mark it becomes almost quite schizophrenic in
the way that the song is up and down and generally
flows with different moods running through at
any one time with the darkness taking over for
the majority.
Both ‘Stray Paper’ and Helter Skelton’
are quite loud sounding and have a massive energetic
Bruce Springsteen style vibe running throughout.
‘Underneath The Ground’ sees the band
go down a real sleepy and stripped down route.
Whilst single ‘ Rollin’ And Tumblin’
brings the album back to life with its classic
Gaslight Anthem vibe and feel running throughout
and once again the bass lines from Alex Levine
are top notch.
A lot of ‘Get Hurt’ is a lot slower
and more serious than songs on the bands previous
albums and you just have to listen to the likes
of ‘Red Violins’, ‘Break Your
Heart’ and ‘Dark Places’ and
any of the albums 4 bonus tracks if you picked
up the deluxe version of the album to see that.
Being a big Gaslight Anthem fan I have to admit
that I found ‘Get Hurt’ really hard
to get into and it took quite a few listens for
me to fully start to appreciate it and now after
what feels like 20 listens I am still trying to
get on with a couple of songs, however you have
to hand it to The Gaslight Anthem they are fantastic
song writers and they have been through some tough
times personally, taking on what the critics say
and have created an album that is pretty solid
yet so different from their back catalogue.
4/5
Review by Trigger
|
