Listened to all The Gaslight Anthem albums
I'd always been a small fan of The '59 Sound and Handwritten. Never dove into the songwriting or anything like that. Over the last year I've been diving into all their albums. I really like how different they all are from each other. Different vibes each time. The only one that didn't feel as inspired but was still great to me is American Slang. Love the recent album.
I came into this as a huge Springsteen fan to start. I didn't know Brian was from Jersey. So all the references caught me off guard. The song with the title very similar to the song on Born To Run and has "No Surrender my Bobby Jean"(two Springsteen songs back to back on Born In The USA). The "sheets soaking wet" reference to I'm On Fire. The "broken heroes reference." Upon first listen I thought I was just hearing things. But I love that whole album and it's appreciation for old American movies and music(love the random Bob Segar ref in Great Expectations).
As someone who loves old heartland dad rock and emo/pop punk. This band just puts both worlds together perfectly. My Spotify top artists of 2025 were Bruce Springsteen and Taking Back Sunday.
The songwriting is just so personal and grand. It's like he can make every situation about a small interaction or feeling feel like this big cinematic experience. Michigan 1975 is haunting. The ending of High Lonesome "when our boots they hit the ground it made a high and lonesome sound", that line alone just encapsulates a feeling. Countless example of this. All while being incredibly catchy.