Review: The Gaslight Album Bottles Instant Nostalgia On “Get Hurt”
–Written by Michael Hogan
Late in the summer of 2008, I was settling into my new apartment in Boston. I had just moved there, and I didn’t know many people yet, so most of my time was spent either walking around the city trying to get my bearings or sitting on my computer listening to music. One day, not long after I had moved in, my good friend from New Jersey messaged me on AIM with an album that I needed to check out immediately. This was something he’d do from time to time – and in fact still does – but this album was different than all the others; this album spoke to me immediately. Never has an album so quickly engrained itself in me to the point where I knew it would become an enduring favorite. This album was The ’59 Sound by The Gaslight Anthem, and it ended up becoming the soundtrack of my first fall in my new home. It remained on repeat as I muddled my way through the public transportation system, made some new friends, and continued to wander through the city as the leaves changed and showed me a real Boston autumn – something that’s still my favorite part of that wonderful city.
And from those first notes of “Great Expectations” the album hasn’t really left me. American Slang felt similar but not quite the same, though not for lack of trying; it was just nearly impossible for an album to overcome the level of nostalgic defensiveness I had for The ’59 Sound. Objectively it was definitely a step forward, and I learned to love that album as well. I so badly wanted the same from Handwritten, but it just didn’t do it for me. I couldn’t get into it the way I could the two, and that was really disappointing. I really wanted it to be another step forward, but it just wasn’t. It got about a dozen or so begrudging listens, and it faded into the background of countless other albums come and gone. I even gave it another chance in the building anticipation for Get Hurt, but it just didn’t click, and my attempts at optimism for the new album were failing.
The same friend that had shown me The ’59 Sound hit me up and sent me a link to the title track off Get Hurt. I put it off for a little while because I didn’t want it to suck; I was convinced it would, but I so badly hoped it didn’t. I went into it with low hopes, but after listening to the leaked track – which had the sound quality of a YouTube rip uploaded to YouTube and ripped again – I kicked myself for ever doubting the band. It felt much like American Slang, with a rough honesty that hearkened back to The ’59 Sound. That being said, it also managed to feel new; it was different, but it was also exactly why I fell in love with The Gaslight Anthem. It was just what I wanted it to be; it was a punk-tingled, vivid story, bursting with the sort of down-home passion that could only be sung by Brian Fallon, heir apparent to Springsteen’s classic Americana aesthetic.
Get Hurt is reminiscent of the feel of The ’59 Sound and American Slang, or at least the way I felt about them. It’s such a quality, uncomplicated, picturesque album that I can listen to it on repeat several times over without really noticing I’ve devoted several hours or my life to the same set of songs. This is the sort of album that I’d put in the upper echelon of Gaslight albums, and honestly even albums in general. I can already see myself listening to this years down the road, feeling the same sort of overwhelming nostalgia that I’m feeling as I write this review. This is the album I needed to hear from these guys, and they sure did deliver.
Watch the video for “Get Hurt” below and grab a copy of the album here.