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The Gaslight Anthem - Get Hurt

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It seems with this, their fifth studio album, New Jersey's Gaslight Anthem have well and truly left behind the punk of their earlier releases, seguing in to the nostalgic rock'n'roll flirted with on 2012's Handwritten. Of course, that doesn't mean to say that Get Hurt sees the band mellowing out entirely, the softer elements are certainly more prevalent and the lyrics more introspective but often these moments of poignancy are interspersed with the driving, stadium-sized choruses the band have come to be masters of. As such, the record is built around a dichotomy of intimacy and anthemics that works, for the most part.

There's always been a preoccupation with nostalgia present within Gaslight's lyricism; a wistful romanticism that has been brought further in to the picture with each and every record. And the same can be said for Get Hurt, Brian Fallon's trademark sincerity has always been a staple of Gaslight's output, as well as the rose-tinted Americana which here takes a back-seat in favour of a brooding narrative. And herein lies one of the few issues with the record, their foray into the realms of stadium-rock and almost-balladry make the lyricism of tracks such as the eponymous 'Get Hurt' feel self-indulgent, and a far cry from the resonance of The '59 Sound. That said however, penultimate number 'Break Your Heart' benefits from that which detracts from 'Get Hurt'; with the polish stripped away there's no pretences surrounding the sincerity which gives the track far more of a feeling of legitimacy than the aforementioned 'Get Hurt'.

Elsewhere the album still has some bombastic tendencies but for the most part feels like the final step in the maturing process for the band. Never quite wholly self-indulgent, but always ambitious. Gone too are the metaphors and parables – no more Marias, or Marys or Janes. This is the sound of Fallon facing his demons head on. From opener 'Stay Vicious' this is evident, with the lyrics addressing his subject as “you”, something not often seen before. The lack of proper nouns might well seem trivial those not too familiar with Gaslight's back catalogue, but it really does signify a step away from the band's glamourised 1950s ideals.

Get Hurt is bound to have its detractors, the polish and fully-realised stadium sound might lack the grit that made the earlier releases so appealing. But for those of us who have been there since Sink or Swim this is the sound of the band leaving behind the “blue jeans and white t-shirts”, breaking free of the Bruce Springsteen comparisons and feeling comfortable enough to expand their sound comprehensively without losing their sense of ambition, nor their sense of poignant yarn-spinning.

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