HANDWRITTEN: your impressions, comments, and declarations of love

StateOfLoveAndGaslight wrote:

Just finished my first listen through of the album, not going to comment on individual songs yet, but overall I'm very impressed, and Alex R is easily the album MVP in my opinion. We all know what we're going to get each time out from Brian, but Alex stepped up bigtime on this album and the guitar work is genuinely facemelting.

My initial thoughts on Alex R as well...people are going to listen to this and want to find out who is on guitar.

Jeez you guys, I'm almost in tears just from reading your comments! I haven't listened, I'm waiting for the album to come in the mail, but my excitement just went up by about a thousand percent. I didn't think that was possible!

First thoughts i really like it. Couple of possible fillers but i always think that on the first listen i always grow to love them. Really heavy personal album this one. Going to listen again tomorrow it's quite a lot to take in all at once. When national anthem finished i was absolutely gutted, not because it was bad but because the album was over i kept wanting more and more.

Jonnyn8 wrote:

Hi everyone this is my first post here, i got too excited when listening to the new album i thought i would make an account and discuss it.
Haven't listened to it all yet but after listening to too much blood this is what i think
It's about Brian putting too much blood into his song writing and therefore showing his wife his real inner feelings. These might be dark feelings that he doesn't want her to know about but he wants to express.

What can I keep for myself if I tell you my hell?
And if I just tell the truth are these only lies left for you
Are you worried I'll say too much?
Are you scared they'll take me away?
Now I am no devil but I've got things on my mind
And they're gonna come out and they're gonna come up time to time

these lines pretty much outline that. What does everyone else think. I will post a few others once i've had a bit of a listen

Welcome, BTW

Still warming up to most the album because of impossible expectations, but National Anthem was absolutely everything I wanted it to be and then some.

First observations:
1. It FLIES by, 41 minutes feels like 10
2. They've found "their sound" indeed, and they don't waver much. This is a muscular ROCK album, punk is there in spirit and ideas, but this is a real rock and roll band now.
3. It's SERIOUSLY hard to pick a "standout," because all these songs are heavy individually. Emotionally, Mae, holy smokes. That could have been the best track on Elsie...and that's really saying something.
4. As good as it is just sitting here, this album belongs in the car, at night, with the speakers LOUD, and with you singing along.
5. If you had to pick a Bruce album comparison lyrically: Darkness
6. Reviewers are right: hybrid '59/Elsie/ROCK

I need more listens to digest it, but initially: they did it again. Hell yes, boys.

Holy crap.

I've listened to it twice and still haven't really processed it yet, so these are my VERY rough observations.

1. Handwritten (the song) is probably now my favorite Gaslight Anthem song.
2. Mullholland Drive is one of my favorites on the album. The second verse hits so close to home for me it gave me chills, and the guitar work from Alex R at the end is stunning.
3. Keepsake has to be the most personal song Brian's ever done, and is very, very good.
4. Too Much Blood is a tiny bit too long. I found myself looking at the CD player timer about a minute before it ended and being like "Really?". Then again, this could change the more I listen to it, as I won't have the thought of "What's next" going through my head.
5. The way Too Much Blood goes straight into Howl is a nice pick me up, and it's just straight up punk rock fun.
6. Studio version of Biloxi is amazing, I miss the third verse but this version is growing on me.
7. I remember someone earlier saying Desire was "filler". I don't see it, it's one of the standouts for me.
8. Mae definitely sounds like a Horrible Crowes song. Can't say too much more cuz I really didn't listen to the lyrics yet.
9. National Anthem is BEAUTIFUL. I cried halfway through it. That is all.

Standouts for me (not counting 45, Biloxi, and HCMM as I'd heard them before) had to be Handwritten, Mullholland, Keepsake, Desire, and National Anthem. This was everything I was expecting.

Just joined the site, a long-time lurker but I decided it's time to join in on the discussion. Big fan here, I was expecting this album to in no way rival The 59 Sound, but it's making the case for it.

I've gotta get to sleep now, but for the time being I'll leave this here:

1. Respectfully disagree that "Desire" is throwaway/filler. I think I like it better than I like 45, and 45 is really good.
2. Anybody who doesn't consider "Keepsake" one of the standouts... I question you. I could just be overly amped on it, but seriously. Listen to the song. LISTEN to it. It really might be the most powerful Gaslight chorus ever.
3. Handwritten, the song, is pretty much perfect.

2nd listen: Mae reduced me to tears. Breakdown. NO SHAME!

a few thoughts-

Howl and Desire are singalong heaven. sitting in the dark singing to those songs after a couple previous listens was just a very happy moment for me. Desire's verses, while not much on their own, serve to perfectly set up that perfect chorus.

Handwritten is probably the best on the album. could probably end up becoming my favorite gaslight song.

not really feeling Keepsake as much as the others. still very good though.




edit- keepsake rules

Broke down and listened to it. I have listened to it only about 1 and a half times. This is one of those albums where you have to close your eyes and listen to it very closely. I have never felt this much emotion from an album before. Most of the time a band releases an album and some of the songs sound too similar to one another; this is not the case with "Handwritten". Every song has its own story and own sound. It just blew me away. I agree with people saying Alex R is the MVP of the entire CD. He blew me away with his guitar work.

1) 45- Loved this song from the beginning and have my Itunes count at about 95. Everyone knows about this song
2) Handwritten- Both the first time and second time I listened to this song I got chills. Brian Fallon's voice toward the end of the song blew me away. I have never heard so much emotion in his voice before.
3) Here Comes My Man- 12 string....that is all I can say
4) Mulholland Drive- This was my most anticipated song on the album and it lived up to it. This is one of those songs that Alex R's guitar work really shines. I love everything about this song. The lyric are awesome and it is for sure that song you can drive down the lonely highway to at night and blast and sing along to.
5) Keepsake- You just have to hear this one for yourself. So personal.....and the harmonica rules
6) Too Much Blood- Another song where the guitar makes the song I think. Some hope shines through the despair that the song tells about. This song is just awesome. The chorus is amazing.
7) Howl- I agree with everyone saying this is the most similar to Sink or Swim. It is only 2 minutes long but the song makes you want to go out and party. It might seem short but I think it is the perfect length.
8 ) Biloxi Parish- Take a close listen to this song. It is a masterpiece. I love the things they do with Brian's voice in this song. I wasn't looking too forward to this song since I have heard it so much but the studio version is like a whole new song.
9) Desire- I don't believe this is a throw away song like most people are saying and I am glad some people also don't believe this. This is just as good as the other songs on the album. It is a quicker paced emotional song.
10) Mae- This is one of those songs where I closed my eyes, stopped what I was doing, and listened to the song. One review said it takes you on a journey and that is correct. I can really see the image of Brian Fallon in a church tower at night writing this song. I believe that is what he said he did. This is a very emotional heavy song.
11) National Anthem- The guitar does sound a lot like "Here's Looking At you Kid" but I think it is awesome. The lyrics are some of the best lyrics I have heard in a long time. I am sure this song will leave many people in tears.

That is just a real quick view on each song. The 41 minutes felt like 5 minutes when I listened to it. There is not one bad thing about this album. This really is one of the best albums I have heard in forever. If this doesn't win them awards then I will lose complete faith in the music industry. You really need to lay down and not do anything and just listen to the album entirely. I can't wait to get my hard copies of this album and really can't wait for the vinyl to arrive. This is a very special album that will always be an important part of my music catalog. Brian, Alex R, Alex L, and Benny have saved Rock n Roll.

I've got to be honest. I think it's a good rock and roll album, but I don't think it utilizes a lot of the band's strengths. The mid-paced tempo of many of the songs doesn't seem to play to their fun, sing-along, fist pump anthems, nor is it slow enough to feel l ike there's a special moment (think Blue Jeans)...

I don't find anything that I am excited enough about that I'd want to share with my friends.

I feel like the band may have missed a big opportunity with "Bring It On", which to me, seemed like the perfect single to bring a TON of new fans in... I don't see anything near as catchy or interesting on this record....

I don't want to sound like a doomsday kind of person, but there isn't anything on here that makes me think they're about to blow up. I'm sure the first week of sales will be strong with all the promotion behind the record, but I'm not sure that they're going to start playing to HUGE venues and end up being enormous.

I want so badly for them to be huge, but for whatever reason, this record doesn't seem to be resonating with me.

I hope that it kicks in after some more listens, but until then I feel like they missed an opportunity with songs like "bring it on" and "diamond church street" to become enormous.

It really hit me after my 3rd spin. This album is practically amazing.

Howl is growing on me A LOT. This is the song you drive around screaming your lungs out singing along to when the weathers nice. I'm LOVING the talked part at the end too.

rkirkpatrick25 wrote:

I've got to be honest. I think it's a good rock and roll album, but I don't think it utilizes a lot of the band's strengths. The mid-paced tempo of many of the songs doesn't seem to play to their fun, sing-along, fist pump anthems, nor is it slow enough to feel l ike there's a special moment (think Blue Jeans)...

I don't find anything that I am excited enough about that I'd want to share with my friends.

It's obviously still early and I'm listening on a tinny NPR album stream, but this album is falling flat big time for me too. It's not bad, and there's definitely some great tracks, but the fact that grungy, plodding 90's rock essentially replaces Brian's soul influence on the majority of this album makes me sad. It's like a whole new band IMO. Kind of surprised at the positive reception for this.

2nd listen done. Fucking hell it's getting better.

45 - Definitely works well as the opener.

Handwritten - Greatest song they've ever written. I welled up once again.

Here Comes my Man - Gets lost amongst the big rock songs a bit. I like it but it doesn't stand up with the others for me.

Mullholland Drive -liking it a lot more, it definitely has its place. Still think it's a bit repetitive though.

Keepsake - fuck me, what a song. One of the most emotional songs Brian's written.

Too Much Blood - When I first heard this in the making of video and saw that it clocks in at 5 minutes I was expecting them to do something more with it. They did not. It's a great song it's just unnecessarily long.

Howl - Fuck yes.

Biloxi - I didn't notice this first time but I do not like Brian's vocals in the chorus at all. He sounds like a robot. Other than that it's still fantastic.

Desire - Eh. It'll probably grow on me and I don't think that it's a filler but for now it doesn't really justify its place on the album in my opinion.

Mae - Oh my god. Goosebumps from head to toe. Seriously beautiful.

National Anthem - Some seriously great lyrics but there are many better songs on this album for me.

It's not perfect but my god is it close.

I keep shivering. And I'm only 4 songs in.

'I just won't be there to stand for it'
'I'd just die, if you ever took your love away'
'Through the mist on Mulholland'

it's big
it's different
it's mature
it sounds like the Itunes Session

brian sings from his heart, but he sings different, i liked his older work on the vocals much more, but

I LOVE THE ALBUM, ALSO THIIS IS SOMEHOW ANOTHER KIND OF BAND
( maybe what i thought they would sound in about 20 years

One listen and it's more THC than TGA to my ears and I love both bands

Mae is such a bruce springsteen influenced song.

Am liking Desire too.

But not National Anthem so much - swings and roundabouts I guess?

HorribleCrowe wrote:

Mae is such a bruce springsteen influenced song.

I also think the "Sha la la's" in Here Comes My Man are Bruce influenced. After I listened to the album straight through that was the part stuck in my head afterwards.

Biloxi's my favorite.
the guitar solo is perfect

Only listened to it once but for me the stand out tracks are Handwritten, Mae, Biloxi Parish, and Keepsake. The only two that really fell flat for me are Desire and Too Much Blood. Need to listen a few more times to really get an overall feel but that's my first reaction. Not sure it warrants all the hyperbolic praise-"album of the year" " best gaslight anthem record yet" but it's still a very solid record and deserves plenty of praise.