The Gaslight Anthem – History Books
Release Date: 27th October 2023
Label: Rich Mahogany
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Genre: Alt-Rock, Heartland Rock, Indie Rock.
FFO: Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Hot Water Music, Frank Turner.
Review By: Paul Franklin
To borrow from one of their own compositions, there were great expectations for this album. And if you are a fan, following a decade since their last one, and a nine-year absence, History Books may not be The Gaslight Anthem (TGA) album you wanted.
For many of those fans, it was the second breakthrough album, The ’59 Sound, that introduced them to the band. The one that launched them onto magazine covers, radio stations and album of the year lists. A relentless punk rock energy that fuelled honestly raw tales from the American heartland. Sure, comparisons were made to the Boss of blue collar Americana, but TGA took these with a nod and a shrug and proved they were no pale imitators on a further three albums, culminating in 2014’s Get Hurt. That last release was preceded by rumours that it could be their last, and when the resulting album’s risky attempt to sound “completely different than anything we had ever done before” was met with a mediocre reception, it was confirmed, and the band were put on hiatus following the 2015 tour.
Frontman Brian Fallon continued to make music both on his own and with Ian Perkins as The Horrible Crows. However, what every fan really hoped for was a new TGA album. They wanted The ’59 Sound – part 2. History Books is not that. A lot of bands with a number of years under their belt expend a huge amount of effort trying to convince us (and themselves) that they are still the same young, energetic pups they used to be ‘back in the day’. To be fair, the same can probably be said for middle-aged men! But they (and we) are not. We are all older and hopefully wiser. Life is full of challenges, triumphs and tears, and a lot can happen in ten years. This is what History Books is. A record that still wants to tell you those stories of life, love and loss, just with the voice of experience.
Fallon’s experiences with therapy and medication provided the thematic direction for the album. Take Positive Charge, the first song he wrote for the record, described as “a message of joy to ourselves and to our audience” about “looking at the things you’ve come through and feeling like you want to go ahead with an open heart toward the future, believing that the best years are not behind any of us and the good we have is worth something.”.
Unfortunately, opener Spider Bites is perhaps the weakest track. Not bad, just a bit clunky, like the band are still trying to jostle themselves back into a familiar position. Fortunately, once they are in position, the rest of the album is sublime. Fallon’s voice is a gravel paved conduit for all those emotions that make us feel human: despair, regret, but always, and most importantly, hope. It’s the same with the lyrics he pens, one chorus will have you howling along at the top of your lungs, then with a few simple words he’s breaking your goddamn heart.
The title track addresses those longstanding comparisons made between the band’s sound and a certain Mr Springsteen’s. “There’s a definitely a little wink in there,” Fallon says,“It’s like ‘Now write this off,’ we’ve got the approval of the guy! What are you going to say? You can’t say anything!”. The aforementioned Positive Charge and the ‘fiery’ Little Fires show that some of that punkish energy still runs through their veins. These are beautifully balanced by the delicate yearning of Michigan, 1975 and the tenderness of The Weatherman.
TGA have a trick up their sleeve, and as displayed on History Books, it’s a mighty impressive one. They can just hook you and bring you into their stories. The beauty being that it’s a different hook each and every time you listen. It could be a guitar line, a particular lyric, or a simple melody, but it’s always there and it’s almost a physical feeling. That moment when you ‘just get it’, you understand the emotion, the sense of regret, the joy of hope and the comfort that you are not alone. Genius.
So, not the TGA album you may have wanted, but precisely the one you need.
(4.5 / 5)
