The Gaslight Anthem
VIMTV Episode #171: The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
Jake: Not Recommended, 57/100
Tom: Recommended, 66/100
Overview: While The Gaslight Anthem certainly has an attractive sound and message in their music, they really do it to death on this album. The song structures, guitar lines, and overall moods are pretty repetitive, which becomes a problem. This is still a decent listen, but it becomes bland by the end of the album and even more so on repeat listens.
Recommended Similar Artists: Gin Blossoms, Dropkick Murphys, Bruce Springsteen, Kings of Leon, Mumford & Sons
Jake’s Track Picks:
- 5. The Queen of Lower Chelsea
- 10. We Did It When We Were Young
Tom’s Track Picks:
- 5. The Queen of Lower Chelsea
- 6. Orphans
- 10. We Did It When We Were Young
VIMTV Research Links:
- The Gaslight Anthem Band Website
- Wikipedia – The Gaslight Anthem
- The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang reviews at Metacritic
- MySpace – The Gaslight Anthem
- The Gaslight Anthem lyrics
“American Slang” Music Video:
Gaslight Anthem interview:








I personally loved this album. It had a nostalgic bruce springsteen, heartland rock style. Catchy hooks and lots of nice guitar licks. Great drumming. Lots of americana sounds in here. And alot of folk and punk sounds thrown in and it mashes together really well. It follows similar song structues through out the album, but so does bruce springsteen and tons of other punk and heartland rock artists. I also thought it had variety with some soul influenced tracks like The Diamond Church Street Choir and The Queen of Lower Chelsea. The title track had a great straightforward punk sound. I thought this album had a great closing track too. I also thought because of some of the similarities in the tracks, it felt like more of a consistent listen. I thought the background vocals on The Spirit of Jazz were a nice touch. I really thought this album had strong hooks and choruses. and it really doesn’t sound like they just ripped off heartland rock artists, specifically springsteen, because of it had the punk and folk sounds thrown in. I absolutely agree that they have an attractive sound and message. I would recommend giving this another listen. an easy 100 for me, best album of the year in my opinion.