The Gaslight Anthem’s “History Books’ Album Download Leak MP3 ZIP Files
The Gaslight Anthem is back! Though it hasn’t felt like a long time since they went on hiatus in 2015 and released their final album, Get Hurt, a decade ago, their ripples haven’t dissipated.
Their championing of heartland-rock / alt-punk has never been more popular, even though Get Hurt was their worst album. Nonetheless, The Gaslight Anthem’s spirit has become more significant than their work, making them a great candidate for a post-hiatus new album.
They even secured a feature from Bruce Springsteen, the godfather of the heartland-rock movement, on their new album History Books, which is a sign that their myth-making has paid off.
History Books is a return to form for The Gaslight Anthem, which is helped by the soft spot they have seemingly earned by default, making it easier for them to benefit from the grading curve that will always shine favorably upon them.
While it’s true that there’s still a bit of a gap between their best work and History Books, it’s still a great return to form. It’s a leap back up toward normalcy after Get Hurt, and it refines the mismanaged ideas from that album into something much more solid while still asserting their abilities.
It’s not as if the teething problems in the hard rock and grunge threads from Get Hurt’s maligned predecessor have entirely disappeared, though. The Gaslight Anthem’s usual languidity and aerated bluster still feel firmly plugged on tracks like Positive Charge or I Live In The Room Above.
But on the whole, they’ve settled into a pocket where the whole exercise is more deft in execution and reaching a stage where large-scale integration is much easier. Opener Spider Bites might initially herald some wonkiness in its barroom stride, but it soon calms into a heartland hard rock mold that’s much more even-keeled.
History Books is, first and foremost, the reassertion of an ever-excellent formula that The Gaslight Anthem isn’t even close to running dry. Thanks to how effortlessly they get back in the saddle, the vibe of timelessness that’s an inherent win continues to come with minimal fuss.
It’s the same foundation that gave them a top-tier run of The ’59 Sound, American Slang, and Handwritten back in the day, a bit more pockmarked and creaky from lack of use but fundamentally unchanged. Folksy, all-American vignettes come scrapbooked and encouraged by their sepia-toned warmth and narrated by Brian Fallon’s burr that now balances out an exterior that’s grown slightly more complicated with the swirls of romance and empathy within.
TRACKLIST
- Spider Bites
- History Books (Ft. Bruce Springsteen)
- Autumn
- Positive Charge
- Michigan, 1975
- Little Fires
- The Weatherman
- Empires
- I Live In The Room Above Her
- A Lifetime of Preludes
The Gaslight Anthem’s broad, blustery fairytales of an idyllic, classic America continue to connect even today. They’re so willing to cast out yonder with incredible nerve, which is why their populism in humanity is the secret weapon of this kind of rock. The band isn’t afraid to put that on the highest pedestal imaginable, even at their lowest ebbs.
Bruce Springsteen’s feature on the title track is a milestone for the band, a validation from America’s working-class hero that The Gaslight Anthem is the right one to pick up the torch. History Books isn’t a nostalgia lap or a cash-grab bankruptcy of new ideas, which was never The Gaslight Anthem’s style initially. They know they have more to offer, and History Books stands proud as that new opening chapter.
