HISTORY BOOKS

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Michigan, 1975 9/16/23 Grand Rapids, MI (song premiere)" ". September 18, 2023 . Retrieved October 3, 2023– via YouTube. Get Hurt (2014) / The B-Sides (2014) / Hold You Up EP (2012) / Handwritten (2012) / iTunes Session (2011) / American Slang (2010) / The ’59 Sound (2008)

a b c Stout, Brian (October 24, 2023). "The Gaslight Anthem Are in Fine Form on History Books". PopMatters . Retrieved October 28, 2023. The Sailor Jerry Podcast Ep. 53 — Brian Fallon (The Gaslight Anthem)" . Retrieved August 16, 2023– via YouTube. Everybody says these words and they seem to like mean nothing but it really does feel like a new beginning,” he adds. “And not a new beginning that doesn’t want to be part of the past, either. It’s a new beginning that is like willing to take the past with it, and say, ‘Yeah, that was awesome then, and it is going to be awesome now, too.”After that you’ve got A Lifetime Of Preludes closing the record, which is another heartbreaker and has a similar feel to Open All Night and See You On The Other Side from your first two solo albums. Do you put a lot of pressure on yourself with those kinds of songs? Following the conclusion of the touring cycle for their previous album, Get Hurt, at Reading Festival on August 30, 2015, [7] the Gaslight Anthem entered an indefinite hiatus, aside from a short tour in 2018 celebrating the 10th anniversary of their 2008 album The '59 Sound, [8] with the band members pursuing new projects and solo careers. Following the reunion announcement, on March 28 the band announced a world tour, with dates across Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. [16] The tour began at the Columbiahalle in Berlin, Germany, on August 9, 2022, and concluded on October 8, 2022, at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey, [17] with another round of tour dates across North America throughout May 2023 announced in February 2023. [18] They remerged in the summer of 2018 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their 2008 album The ’59 Sound with a brief tour, but no material arrived, and Fallon remained focused on his solo career. He released four solo albums between 2016 and 2022 and toured all over the world. But the Gaslight Anthem returned to the road in 2022 and began working on new songs with producer Peter Katis. The ones in Autumn are some of my most proud moments. And Spider Bites, too. Just the simplicity of, ‘ And so we struggle for each other,’ I would have never said that before – I would have made it into much more of a complex statement, and I wouldn’t have had the confidence to just say the simplest thing. And I think a lot of the lyrics to Positive Charge are some of my favourites, too; they capture what I was saying so well. And Michigan, 1975 – that’s like my little baby. I wanted that song so bad, and I really just love it.”

I Live In The Room Above Her’ explodes with powerful guitar riffs, staging a grand introduction, tempering off a little for the verses while still holding a bite to the tones. The dramatic swinging of the main hook culminates in the biggest chorus on History Books. The distorted guitar tones ring out and a softer final verse fades out. Album closer ‘A Lifetime of Preludes’ mirrors the solemn album introduction of ‘Spider Bites’, sending History Books home on a soft and somber note filled with regretful nostalgia and holding a bittersweet finality to itself. Dillon, Ryan (October 25, 2023). "Gaslight Anthem's History Books Is As Refreshing As It Is Familiar (Album Review)". Glide Magazine . Retrieved October 28, 2023. a b Howieson, Craig (October 27, 2023). "The Gaslight Anthem – History Books". Clash . Retrieved October 28, 2023.Fallon's experiences with therapy and medication influenced the album's direction and themes. He highlighted "Positive Charge", the first song he wrote for the record, as "a message of joy to ourselves and to our audience" about "looking at the things you've come through and feeling like you want to go ahead with an open heart toward the future, believing that the best years are not behind any of us and the good we have is worth something." [14] Some three years on—with the band having properly reformed in the spring of 2022— History Books takes influence from both before and after the split, though never in a predictable or obvious fashion. Indeed, History Books is the sound of a band who truly feel comfortable and happy in their own skin again. That’s more of an accomplishment for this band than for many others, given that it was a persistent deluge of lazy comparisons to Bruce Springsteen that ultimately contributed to their demise in the first place. They weren’t totally unfounded—2008’s breakthrough second album The ’59 Sound references The Boss musically and lyrically on a number of songs, something that led to Springsteen proclaiming himself a fan and taking the band, and Fallon in particular, under his wing. Lugen, Mikala (March 28, 2022). "The Gaslight Anthem Announce First Headlining World Tour in Four Years". Volume Utah . Retrieved October 18, 2022. Shutler, Ali (April 29, 2023). "The Gaslight Anthem return with first new song in nine years, announce US tour". NME . Retrieved August 16, 2023. a b c d Brodsky, Rachel (July 21, 2023). "The Gaslight Anthem Share New Song "History Books" Featuring Bruce Springsteen". Stereogum . Retrieved July 21, 2023.

One thing that did change during The Gaslight Anthem’s long absence was that the group’s members – Fallon, Rosamilia, bassist Alex Levine and drummer Benny Horowitz – all passed 40. It suits them. If the early Gaslight Anthem albums were roughly equally freighted with a fear of getting older and a fear of not living that long, History Books is where they grapple with the prospect that middle age is at once more and less terrifying than their twenty and thirty-something selves imagined.

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Fallon has also expressed his appreciation for where The Gaslight Anthem find themselves in 2023. “When you have a band reach any level of success or popularity, that’s a gift,” he explained. “It’s truly a miracle to be able to do your art for a living.” On the subject of Spider Bites: the line ‘ We struggle for each other’ is absolutely beautiful. Where did that come from? On April 28, 2023, the band released "Positive Charge", their first new music in nine years, accompanied by the addition of more tour dates to their North American tour between September and October 2023. [19] [20] The song received its live debut three days later on May 1, 2023, at the House of Blues in Houston, Texas and was played at every subsequent show on the tour. [21] [22]

Ultratop.be – The Gaslight Anthem – History Books" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 5, 2023.The Gaslight Anthem's 2023 LP History Books serves as their first since 2014, and the band brings such ferocity to their return, it sounds as if they're trying to wipe away a near-decade's worth of cobwebs in a single riff, cymbal crash, and lyric. Somber but not sad, History Books recalls the urgency and triumph of the band's sophomore effort and That was probably inspired by coming out of that really long 20-year, 30-year period of feeling mentally disconnected from the universe, and feeling like, ‘Why is every day so hard? This is terrible.’ And going to therapy and getting medication, I was then reflecting a little bit on that and going, ‘Man, if I had the things that I have now, and the way that I feel now, and the life that I have now, I’d be young so much better!’ Because I would have enjoyed it, is what the real meaning is. I don’t think that I really enjoyed growing up, because I was struggling the whole time.” The Gaslight Anthem Announce 2024 UK/European Tour, Plus 2000Trees Headline Set". October 3, 2023 . Retrieved October 3, 2023– via YouTube.