Lead singer Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem had an abundance of inspiration for quite some time. That is why he started a second band, The Horrible Crowes, but when he started working on the fourth studio album of The Gaslight Anthem, all inspiration for new work turned out to have disappeared. Fallon sat with his notebook in hand, but didn't know where to look. After many hours of toil with
… pen and paper, he comes up with an album, aptly titled Handwritten. There is nothing to be heard of the lack of inspiration on these eleven formidable punk rock songs. Not only Fallon, but also the band sounds more driven than ever. From the rough opener “45” and the Springsteen-like Here Comes My Man, to the beautiful acoustic closing track National Anthem, the band knows how to surprise and entertain. The toil has not been in vain: Handwritten is without a doubt their strongest album to date. (BvdV)more
