The Gaslight Anthem – “The ‘59 Sound”

Rating: 9/10

When someone talks about ‘roots’ music, it can be assumed they are speaking on the origins of a certain style of music.

Certainly when people think of punk ‘roots,’ they think of the Ramones, The Velvet Underground and (shudder) The Sex Pistols. However, these assumptions are incorrect. Roots is a style within a style, a stripped down reflection on a contemporary style of music.

Last year, the punk community fell in love with The Gaslight Anthem. Their Jawbreaker-esque melodies and big hooks made their 2007 debut LP “Sink or Swim” a “top five selection.” However, in one year, The Gaslight Anthem has completely revamped their sound, with immaculate results.

Two words sum up the new approach: Bruce Springstein.

Make no mistake, this album is “punk-gone-Americana-with-a-touch-of-soul” for good measure. “The ’59 Sound” is a beautiful, lamenting narrative that really paints a picture of loneliness. “Film Noir” starts like a slow ballad, but eventually picks up the pace and rollicks to its conclusion. The band wears its sweat on its sleeve here as these songs sound like they are being played out of a jukebox in a seedy bar on the bad side of town.

As “Miles Davis & The Cool” runs through the listener like an old childhood memory, this reviewer wondered: Is this record truly groundbreaking?

The short answer is no, but the long answer is that this album is another example of music coming out with massive mainstream appeal, despite the punk roots (see: Against Me’s flagrant betrayal of their idealism on 2007’s “New Wave” or The Hold Steady becoming indie rock darlings in 2006 with “Boys and Girls in America.”)

“The Backseat” closes out the record, and it will surely be a fan favorite for years to come. It has the vintage punk sound and it will most certainly be sung in unison in basements for years,

The amazing conclusion serves as a perfect ending to what has easily been the best album to come out of the punk scene this year.