“Completely different than anything we had ever done before.”

That’s the description that Brian Fallon, frontman for New Jersey rock band The Gaslight Anthem, gave to Rolling Stone in regards to Get Hurt, the band’s fifth full-length studio album. In fact, in the lead up to this record, Fallon made numerous statements just like that, talking about how he and his band spent the writing and recording sessions for album number five listening to famous records where bands had changed course and gotten “weird.” For some, hearing Fallon reference U2’s Achtung Baby and how it took that band’s sound in a completely new direction was reason to become uneasy. After all, The Gaslight Anthem is a band that has made a career out of following small progressions from album to album, changing up the themes, lyrics, and song structures, but always maintaining the same core Jersey rock and roll sound. The prospect of a “weird” Gaslight Anthem album was nerve-wracking because, for many, imagining what that album could even possibly sound like was borderline impossible.

Artform will never cease being a self-involved & possessive medium for any and all onlookers. One can’t help but draw their own experiences in order to relate to whatever it is they see or hear from any artist, whether it be a painter, musician or filmmaker. Part of including our own relation to a piece is referring to our historical worldview, always spotting influence & inspiration. A song lyric, a brush stroke or even part of a character’s outift — we’re bound to pick out what we recognize, making it easier as participants to relate to the artist’s motivation and our own perspective.

In five short years, New Jersey quartet The Gaslight Anthem have gone from punk rock bruisers to one of the most celebrated & prolific modern rock acts on the scene. Much of that success stems from the band’s ability to seamlessly weave influences into their music, both in terms of lyrical reference and overall sound. With their 2008 breakthrough, The ’59 Sound, music fans relished the opportunity to hear a large combination of influence from Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Presley, something that was heard not only through the raspy vocal charm of Brian Fallon, but also through a more traditional, old-school production (courtesy of Ted Hutt, who is also present on this record). Many of the themes and style were reminescent of 1950’s rock n’ roll, something the band used to their advantage. With their third full-length, American Slang, the distinction between individual art and influence continues to grow, offering everyone on board a chance to carefully sift through and pay tribute to the influential legends, all while concocting their own sound for the future.