Today, New Jersey-bred rock band The Gaslight Anthem release their highly-anticipated sixth studio album and first in over nine years, History Books. Listen here.
Building a formidable velocity right from its first seconds, History Books opens on the soaring melancholy of ‘Spider Bites’, an exhilarating collision of pounding rhythms, blistering riffs, lush piano melodies, and lyrics that cut right to the heart. “That song came together at a time when so many bad things were happening at once, starting from that first line: ‘My teeth are crumbling structures,’” frontman Brian Fallon recalls. “It’s about trying to cope in those moments when it feels like everything’s going wrong.”
To celebrate the album release, the band have shared a Halloween-themed video for ‘Spider Bites’ directed by Kelsey Hunter Ayres. Get ready for spooky season and watch it here.
The follow up to 2014’s Get Hurt and the first release from their own label Rich Mahogany Recordings (distributed via Thirty Tigers), History Books finds The Gaslight Anthem working with acclaimed producer/engineer Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Death Cab for Cutie) and recording at his Bridgeport, CT-based Tarquin Studios.
Like so many of the most essential rock bands, The Gaslight Anthem have a rare gift for finding glory in the inescapable pain of being alive. On History Books, the New Jersey-bred four-piece bring their soulful breed of punk to ten thrilling songs exploring everything from mortality to mental illness to the more precarious dimensions of human connection; from the vigorous rock ‘n’ roll energy of ‘Positive Charge’, to the pure punk bombast of ‘Little Fires’ and contemplative ‘Autumn’, to the triumphant Bruce Springsteen-featured title-track. In the tradition of their seminal sophomore album The ’59 Sound, The Gaslight Anthem’s sixth full-length ultimately achieves the tremendous feat of hitting every raw nerve while endlessly inspiring wildly triumphant singing-along. Purchase the album here.
The Gaslight Anthem will make their long-awaited return to the UK for a full headline tour in March 2024. The run kicks off on 18th March at Glasgow’s O2 Academy, moving through Sheffield, Manchester, Wolverhampton and London, where the band will play an intimate two-night stand at The Roundhouse, then wrapping up at Dublin’s 3Olympia on 29th March. Singer-songwriter / guitar virtuoso Emily Wolfe will support on all dates. The band will head back to England in the summer to play a warm up show at Nottingham Rock City on 10th July, before they headline 2000 Trees Festival on 11th July.
History Books Track Listing:
1. Spider Bites
2. History Books (feat. Bruce Springsteen)
3. Autumn
5. Michigan, 1975
6. Little Fires
7. The Weatherman
8. Empires
9. I Live In The Room Above Her
10. A Lifetime Of Preludes
THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM – UK/EU TOUR 2024
MARCH
6 – Stockholm, SE – The Annex*
7 – Oslo, NO – Sentrum Scene*
9 – Copenhagen, DK – Gray Hall*
11 – Berlin, DE – Columbiahalle*
12 – Wiesbaden, DE – Schlachthof*
14 – Brussels, BE – Ancienne Belgique
15 – Cologne, DE – Palladium*
16 – Utrecht, NL – Tivoli/Vredenburg Ronda* (SOLD OUT)
18 – Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy*
21 – Sheffield, UK – O2 Academy*
22 – Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo*
23 – Wolverhampton, UK – Civic Hall*
25 – London, UK – Roundhouse*
26 – London, UK – Roundhouse*
29 – Dublin, IE – 3Olympia*
*with Emily Wolfe
JULY
10 – Nottingham, UK – Rock City
11 – Cheltenham, UK – 2000 Trees Festival
