With Get Hurt, The Gaslight Anthem's second major label album (and fifth overall), plenty of Petty references are being made; there are plenty of classic leaning licks to be found alongside Fallon's earnest, hopeless romantic leaning lyricism. It probably doesn't help that Petty just released a pretty good album of his own, but in the end drawing such parallels between the two is a bit lazy; it's not so far off from insinuating that Mastodon's new album sounds an awful lot like Metallica. It might not be completely wrong, but it's surely more wrong than right.
True, The Gaslight Anthem have aimed their ears toward the past on recent albums, from the soulful vibes that pop up sporadically on American Slang through the '90s alternative influences under the surface of Handwritten. On Get Hurt, the songs take on more of a late seventies/early eighties slant (you know, The Rise of Petty Years). It's in the fabric of several tracks, from the late night longing of the title track to the steamy, muscular Stray Paper to the keyboards and reverb that dominate Underneath the Ground.
Overall, however, the '90s influences seem stronger. They're upfront and in your face from the word go, as lead track Stay Vicious bursts with those prototypical "grungy" power chords and added menace on Fallon's vocal delivery. It's even more evident in late-album highlight Selected Poems, which starts off as a slow burner only to explode with slashing guitars and soaring melodies (especially on its massive chorus).
If I have a problem with Get Hurt, it's the way The Gaslight Anthem approach their experiments. It's been repeatedly mentioned in recent interviews that the band was hungry for change, looking to mix it up a bit. They certainly have on much of Get Hurt, but many of the "surprises" the album has in store are of the "make the chorus totally different from the rest of the song" variety. Take Stay Vicious, Helter Skeleton and Ain't That a Shame, fantastic songs with nice choruses, but choruses that dull the momentum of their songs; as thrilling a change of tonal pace as they may be, once the first few listens are out of the way and the surprise wears off those choruses just seem a bit out of place.
These are minor gripes, however, and Get Hurt doesn't have any truly bad songs; in fact, the album packs a few legit career highlights for the band. the title track and Break Your Heart ratchet up the emotion and hit as hard as their biggest ballads, while the B-side starts off with the potent one-two punch of fiery single Rollin' & Tumblin' and the hard rocking soul of Red Violins.
The album's absolute highlight, however, isn't even officially part of the album. Bonus track Sweet Morphine (found on digital and CD versions but not vinyl) is a laid back, mid-tempo stunner that is so effortless in its majesty and flawless in its execution as to make me a little bit angry about not getting it on the vinyl version. It also incredibly marks three albums in a row for this band in which they've relegated an amazing song to mere bonus track status (have a listen to She Loves You and Blue Dahlia for past evidence).
All told, Get Hurt won't convert any naysayers into adoring fans, nor should it send any current fans away screaming. The shifts in tone aren't all that extreme, and the band tends to keep it between the lines more often than veer off path. More importantly, the songwriting remains sharp and sincere. As a result, no matter what the headlines may say, Get Hurt is simply another great album by one of modern rock's greatest bands.
August 12, 2014 • Island
Highlights Get Hurt • Rollin' & Tumblin' • Red Violins
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