Source: http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/45415/The-Horrible-Crowes-Elsie/
If you're familiar with The Gaslight Anthem, I reckon I don't need to
speak at length about Brian Fallon's masterful storytelling abilities,
where his gravelly, rugged voice operates with the heartfelt conviction
and gusto of a fiery preacher delivering his homily. If you've never
heard Gaslight, then here's a quick crash course: the New Jersey-bred
Fallon has gone on record saying that he has ambitions of Gaslight
attaining the same prestige as fellow statesman Bruce Springsteen - The
Boss has even played with the quartet on stage - and while Gaslight will
always be his top priority, he sought an outlet where he could fuel his
burning desire to write songs in the vein of Tom Waits, Nick Cave, or
The Afghan Whigs' Greg Dulli. How Fallon has the capacity to take anyone
and everyone's sadness, pain, and forlorn spirit and juxtapose these
emotions with feelings of healing, of recovery, and hope for the future -
and just make it seem so goddamn easy - escapes reasoning and, quite
frankly, makes me jealous as hell. Paired up with longtime friend and
Gaslight guitar tech Ian Perkins, the Horribe Crowes' debut Elsie is not
a Brian Fallon solo record; rather, it is a brooding, soul-searching
album (described as "hymns for the lonely" by Fallon himself) that
effortlessly coalesces elegy and renaissance in one of this year's best
records.