THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM
“45” (3:25)
Producer: Brendan O’Brien
Writer: The Gaslight Anthem
Publishers: Little Eden Music/EMI April Music (ASCAP)
Mercury
Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon likes to focus on old records and cars in his music. He does it again on “45,” the first single from the Jersey punks’ upcoming fourth LP and Mercury debut, which includes another pristine chorus built from arena-ready guitars and wrenched-gut vocals. This track soars through the listener, however, its hooks and riffs firing on all cylinders, and its immensity paired with an intimacy that the group has developed since its earliest work. It’s a song about getting over a girl, but Fallon masterfully evokes that dead-end solipsism through the narrator’s simple act of hitting rewind on a comforting song. But the Gaslight Anthem is too full of optimism for such moping. “And all my friends say, ‘Hey, turn the record over/Hey, see you on the flip side,'” Fallon bellows, in a cry that’s fierce enough to make any cynic sing out.
