Brian Fallon doesn’t think New Jersey’s Gaslight Anthem sounds too much like Springsteen

The first thing you hear on the Gaslight Anthem’s latest CD, The ’59 Sound—just before the stormy vibe of opening track “Great Expectations” kicks in—is the scratchy noise of a well-worn record. As singer-guitarist Brian Fallon explains, his appreciation for vinyl led him to incorporate the oft-used sound effect, although he’s not one of those collector types whose basement is a repository for stacks of dusty LPs.

“I have a very lean vinyl collection,” he reveals, on the line from an Atlanta tour stop, “but it’s filled with very good records, so I feel like the weight of the records spreads it out enough. I love to listen to ’em over and over and over again, and when I feel like I’ve finally heard everything there is to hear on a record, then I’ll maybe get a new one.”

It comes as no surprise that the choice 12-inchers making steady rounds on Fallon’s turntable of late include the first three albums by fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen. The Gaslight Anthem has a big thing for the Boss, whose influence is strikingly evident on The ’59 Sound, the follow-up to last year’s Sink or Swim debut.

In its five-K review of the new disc, prominent British music mag Kerrang! described the new disc as “punk rock’s very own Born to Run “. Some might complain that the Gaslight Anthem sounds a tad too much like Jersey’s prodigal son, but the group has heard through Springsteen’s son Evan, a fan of the band, that his dad has no beefs of his own.

“Springsteen doesn’t think we sound too much like him,” says Fallon, “so nobody else should think that, either.”

The Gaslight Anthem plays Thunderbird Stadium on Sunday (November 9), touring on a four-band bill headlined by Rise Against, a leftist punk quartet out of Chicago known for message-heavy hits like “Re-Education (Through Labor)” and “Prayer of the Refugee”.

Fallon’s band isn’t nearly as politically minded as that, focusing on themes of youthful romance and growing up.

“We’re more observational,” he relates. “We’re just watchin’ it all go down, and tryin’ to muster up an opinion for ourselves.”

Another thing that distinguishes the Gaslight Anthem from its tourmates is the fact that it doesn’t sound particularly punky, even though punk rock is the genre it’s associated with.

“It seems to be where we came from,” he points out, “but I think that’ll kinda fade away. People are talkin’ more about the older stuff that it’s influenced by.”

Considering how heavily indebted the Gaslight Anthem is to that stuff—early Springsteen in general, Born to Run in particular—shouldn’t the new disc have been called The ’75 Sound?

“It could be that as well!,” agrees Fallon with a laugh. “That was kinda the ’59 sound too, though, don’t you think?”

To hear the full audio of my 2008 interview with Brian Fallon of the Gaslight Anthem subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 650 of my other uncut, one-on-one conversations with rockers since 1982.