The '59 Sound - The Gaslight Anthem

Say hello to The Gaslight Anthem. Dare I suggest the majority of you haven't heard of them?? Well, some might know them simply as the band that got Bruce Springsteen to join them on stage during their performance at Glastonbury this year. Well, this is their album "The '59 Sound". Released in 2008 on SideOneDummy Records, it's a twelve-track album which instantly personifies the 'Americana' type of band. Big choruses, full of melodies and short instrumental interludes and breakdowns - usually surrounding a glitzy guitar solo. The opening track, "Great Expectations", is just that. Big glorious choruses and verses that contain ...  Read the complete review

Gaslight Anthem herald from New Jersey in the USA. Bruce Springsteen was born in New Jersey in the USA. Get the link?! But this comparison is overly harsh to a band who's first album has energy and catchy hooks aplenty. Lead single "The '59 Sound" bombards you with guitars and drums thrashing away, "Old White Lincoln" chorus sticks in your head for days and closer "The Backseat" takes emotional levels high sounding like a cross between The Killers, My Chemical Romance and the Boss. The Bpm may rarely lower, and on first listens it may sound like an onslaught to your ears, but stick with it and the songs part to each become a classic. It'll ...  Read the complete review

Although the Gaslight Anthem have released other albums prior to this one, it was 'The 59' Sound' that catapulted them into the awareness of casual rock fans. Throw in a cover appearance on Kerrang! and a listing high in the charts for 'Best Album of 08' and all the ingrediants were there for this band to blow up in the mainstream. Much has been made of the Springsteen influences that this band so proudly wears on their sleeve, and theres no getting around it - They do occasionally crib whole lines of lyrics, ideas and the melodies of the Boss, but this is more like Springsteen after a strong flask of coffee and a heap of sugar and ...  Read the complete review

After hearing Great Expectations on the Radio, I set off in search the band that had captured my imagination with the first genuine American sounding rock song I had heard in a very long time. Having just rekindled my interest in a number of great American artists like Springsteen and Neil Young, Great Expectations gave me some hope that maybe the States were not just offering up great political hope at the moment, but bands with a sound you don;t get over here, and that once in a while you can't help but crave. The '59 Sound has that retrospective feel to it, but when they get a bit of energy into their music it sounds as fresh as anything out there. The track The '59 ...  Read the complete review

The 2nd full length but 3rd overall album from The Gaslight Anthem is the record which really through them into the limelight of millions of people. The opening track is a brilliant opening, 'I saw tail lights, last night, had a dream about my first wife...everybody leaves so why, why wouldn't you?' A big statement about a guy who has almost given up on a relationship before it even starts, it's a statement alot of people can relate to and that goes on for the entire album. The 2nd track, headline single 59' Sound, is the song which caught the attentions of an entire generation it seems, the chorus is almost feverish in it's effectivness, ...  Read the complete review