SOUND BITES

One can't help but feel just a little bad for Brian Fallon. His voice and style have garnered him plenty of comparisons to American rock icons, most notably Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty; that he recalls them so vividly for so many speaks volumes not to some kind of impressionist act, but to his obvious and abundant talents as a singer and songwriter. Yet, with every Gaslight Anthem album that gets released, he's dogged with accusations of mimicry. 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 co...

Remember way back in early January when I expressed disdain over the idea of the "greatest hits" album in this day and age? I opined in that piece that a collection of B-sides and unreleased tracks would make more sense for most fans of a band. Like clockwork, here's a collection of Gaslight Anthem B-sides, although its presentation proves just a bit misleading. Allow me to explain. Handwritten , Gaslight Anthem's fourth album, was a breakthrough success back in 2012; spurred by the strength of singles 45 and Here Comes My Man , it got the band a slew of new fans (and lost a few hipsters). The thing is, that was their first album on a major label; their previous two albums were released on indie outfit Side One Dummy, who's responsible for the release of this compilation. So, yes, this is a collection of B-sides. However, prefacing the title with "the" implies completion, so as to say "these are all of Gaslight Anthem's B-sides". Th...

THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM Biloxi Parish From: Handwritten Released: July 24 In 2012, The Gaslight Anthem took a long-overdue leap to the big time; Handwritten is their first album on a major label, produced by rock powerhouse producer Brendan O'Brien. And its first single, the raucous and heartfelt “45” , was a fitting introduction to the masses. It packs in the workmanlike chops the band has become known for alongside what is arguably the biggest, earworm-worthy chorus they've ever penned. It's also a great way to start off Handwritten , an album that encapsulates their overall sound and then transcends it thanks to O'Brien's masterful production. The album's prime example is Biloxi Parish , a song that starts off unassuming enough, then piles on hook after hook after hook until you have no choice but to tap out to its force.

Stream The Gaslight Anthem's fourth album Handwritten here courtesy of my personal heroes at NPR. Making the long overdue jump to a major label after a humble debut and a pair of truly excellent albums, The Gaslight Anthem returns to record stores next week with Handwritten .  Understandably, there's a lot at stake for the New Jersey soul rockers, so they mostly quell the urge to experiment, focusing on what they do best.

With their amazing new single 45 seeing release in its namesake format, we finally get to check out its B-side, which happens to be a rugged but faithful cover of Tom Petty's 1982 hit You Got Lucky . Fans will be pleased to know that, in addition to its presence on the 45 single, You Got Lucky will be included as one of three bonus tracks on the deluxe edition of Handwritten. No word on whether or not bonus track Sliver is a cover of the Nirvana tune, but as we get closer to release date that sort of information always... shall we say, leaks out. Have a listen to You Got Lucky: Handwritten is The Gaslight Anthem's major label debut, coming July 24 on Mercury.

With lead single 45 just having had its world premiere on U.K. radio, it's time to get excited for some new Gaslight Anthem music. 45 is taken from the Jersey rock gods' fourth album Handwritten , which has been announced for release on July 24th. I'm so excited to share the news about what's become one of my favourite bands of the last ten years, I haven't even heard it yet, so I've got to wrap this up and go listen.  Stream that shit right here .