The Gaslight Anthem: American Slang

The New Jersey band follow too closely in the footsteps of Bruce Springsteen with their third album.

American Slang has done little to distance The Gaslight Anthem from Bruce Springsteen, following the same lyrical territory as The Boss throughout the album.

Any rock band from New Jersey who wear their blue-collar credentials proudly on their sleeves will inevitably face comparisons with Bruce Springsteen, but The Gaslight Anthem have done little to distance themselves from the analogy. On the contrary, as well as their obvious musical similarities and constant eulogising of The Boss during interviews, they played with him at last summer's Glastonbury festival not once, but twice - including a duet during Springsteen's headline slot.

The link-up resulted in sales of the band's second album, The '59 Sound, leaping 200 per cent and the former punk rock stalwarts becoming a mainstream concern overnight. One might assume, then, that for their follow-up LP, The Gaslight Anthem would want to prove they can do more than honour their home-state hero. Apparently not. This album is essentially Born To Run, but without loud guitars filling-in for all the keys and horns.

The title track American Slang kicks-off the record with rousing underdog lyrics, "they cut me to ribbons and taught me to drive" and "the fortunes came for the richer man, while we're left with gallows". But while the singer Brian Fallon treads much of the same lyrical territory as not just Springsteen but also Joe Strummer, he actually says very little. Diamond Church Street Choir trades in the band's punk energy for finger-clicking blue eyed soul. Just as it gets enjoyable, the dumbfounding chorus begins "who, who, who does it better than we do?" Do they really want us to answer that?

There are plenty of jaunty riff-driven numbers, such as Orphans and Boxer, that were no doubt designed to be played on car stereos. Their brand of catchy punk, with a heavy slice of 1970s rock, certainly drifts out of the speakers easily, but only because there's so little substance to make you take notice. Thankfully, they don't mess about with drawn-out, narrative-driven songs (another Springsteen's calling-card) and the album feels efficient if nothing else. The band clearly have skill at delivering both fist-shaking rock and down-tempo grooves too, but the record's few slivers of originality are spoiled by an over-dependence on what's gone before.

It doesn't have to be that way, of course; Arcade Fire's 2006 release, Neon Bible, bore the imprint of Springsteen's sound and showmanship, but also offered something that was unmistakably the band's own. Many of the songs that make up American Slang have the exuberance of fellow East Coast retro-rockers The Hold Steady, but none of the wit and irony that makes that band so worthwhile. From the first to the last minute of this record, The Boss' influence can be heard. And while the group seem adept at crafting melodies that soar, riffs that rock and drums that crunch, it's all wrapped-up in something so derivative that it's impossible for anyone other than the most devoted fan to forgive. While there are very few truly original artists making music today, The Gaslight Anthem have fallen into straight imitation - offering very little that doesn't bear the fingerprints of their predecessors.

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