How do you describe The Gaslight Anthem to people?

I am always trying to get people interested in TGA and I have used a lot of different ways of describing them, currently I say they sound like "Bruce Springsteen playing for The Clash"

How do you describe them to new people?

Bruce Springsteen singing for a melodic uptempo punk band

Awesome or really cool.

I say the same thing as you e7c

i always feel like i never get it right when i try to compare bands to other, more well known bands. i end up saying "well, kinda, but not really, just listen to them." i guess for gaslight i just describe a lot of their influences and describe the major differences between the two records. i haven't got any succinct answer like e7c.

Yeah, that's a tough one. There's no good way to explain it in terms of other bands I suppose; even though it's not like they're genre defying.
I tell people it's punk Bruce Springsteen, or The Killers w/o synth (that one's not accurate at all, but it gets people's attention).

In the end, I ask friends to just play it in the background while they're doing something else, then give it another listen and pay close attention to the lyrics.

I usually describe them as a rock band that has blues/punk roots. Or I just quote brian and tell them they sound like bruce fronting the cure. But I think e7c has their sound description nailed

They don't really sound like The Clash, but for people unfamiliar with punk I'd say it's good description.
Gaslight sounded like peers like The Loved Ones, Bouncing Souls, Against and Hot Water Music to me at first with a Springsteen influenced singer on Sink Or Swim.

if the Killers lost the glam and wrote songs that meant something...

paratrooper wrote:

if the Killers lost the glam and wrote songs that meant something...

haha. you mean that spaceman song wasnt meaningful to you? ...im waiting to read tomaldo's response.

I tell them it's like candy for their ears.

Then I get serious and say it's like Bruce Springsteen writing songs after he's watched a film noir movie while listening to The Replacements on his iPod.

i just say "theyre fucking awesome. listen to them."

I gave my sister a cd with their music on it today. I figured it wouldn't to any good to compare them to Bruce Springsteen in her case, so I just said, "Here, this is better than the music you listen to."

She says she liked it.

haha. i think that's the best description ive heard thus far!

"here, this is better than the music you listen to"

I think they sound more like the Replacements than anyone else.

When they covered "Left of the Dial", I could have sworn it was Westerberg singing when I closed my eyes.

A lot of similar guitar work too as on many other Mats songs.

You just gotta have them listen.
Or tell them it's kind of like Bruce writing songs for the Ramones on the first one.
Or like The Clash channeling Buddy Holly for The '59 Sound..

a punky bruuuuce

One of the bands that's saving music.

Agreed, Vibes!

Um, I go with "Rock band from the school of Bruce with a bit of Rockabilly." Though I don't know if they technically fit into the rockabilly category.

Harry Lime wrote:

"Here, this is better than the music you listen to."

Hell yeah, that is awesome! I think I am going to use that line.

i tink bruce with a hint of punk, and sometimes just pure genius.

I was trying to think of this the other day.

Its trying to describe that whole genre of bands like Gaslight, Lucero & Springsteen. You know, they tell a story with raw emotion and have a singer with a voice like gravel, sad songs about girls and the old times and the south.

Can anyone help me out here?

Had a look on wikipedia at the genres and i guess its a mix of these
cowpunk
outlaw country
roots rock
heartland rock
amerciana
sad southern rock

I like the soul-punk label myself. TGA and Bruce wouldn't really fall under heartland or southern although Lucero could.

gaslight = southern? cowpunk? outlaw country?
definitely no, no, no
the only label there i would really agree on is a touch of americana, but minus any southern tinges and + punk/soul/rocknroll/whatever else

and i don't really think brian's voice is that gravelly.