The UK has seen a punk-rock revival in the last eighteen months, spearheaded by the astronomic rise of bands like Gallows and The Ghost of a Thousand. Across the pond, however, it seems that punk never died: the scene in the US is as vibrant (and as inconsistent) as it ever was. That much is clear the first time you listen to Sink or Swim, the debut album from New Jersey folk-punks The Gaslight Anthem.
The sound is clearly heavily influenced by both folk music and the blues movement, and this rich heritage is easy to discern in the listening. Acoustic interlude “The Navesink Banks” is a heartrending blues anthem, singer Brian Fallon’s mournful vocals plucking delicately at the listener’s heartstrings.
The two singles already released from the album (“Drive” and “I’d'a Called You Woodie, Joe”) are powerful rock’n'roll tunes that are the backbone of the band’s sound: quickfire melodies, sleazy basslines and razor-sharp songwriting. Bruce Springsteen meets The Clash in a blues bar. From the nostalgic, anthemic album opener “Boomboxes and Dictionaries”, to the Dylan-esque strains of “Red At Night”, the album never disappoints.
In a time where emotion in music is viewed with cynical suspicion (thanks largely to the destructive efforts of Tony Brummel and the art(ificial)ists at Victory Records), it is refreshing to hear a vocalist singing with real emotion again. Sink or Swim is uncompromisingly honest, and represents anthemic, melodic rock music at its best.
I must confess that I’m struggling to find suitable criticisms to balance this argument; this really is an excellent album, almost without exception. I mean, of course there are songs I like less than others, but overall, it’s an album with remarkable re-listening potential.
As a side-note, and I’m not sure if this is a criticism or not, it is interesting how similar Brian Fallon’s voice is to that of Matt Skiba – indeed, it would be easy at first to mistake TGA for a less morbid incarnation of early-era Alkaline Trio. However, the band has a depth and power of their own, and any comparisons to other bands can only be loose similarities.
The Gaslight Anthem clearly have a great contribution to make to music, and – barring disaster – I don’t think they’ll disappoint. Whether you’re a fan of blues, folk, or old-school punk-rock I think you’ll find Sink or Swim a gratifying listen. In fact, I’d put my neck on the line and say that it’s probably the strongest debut album since Please Please Me.
Who needs electricity? I could live by the Gaslight.
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Marcus Kernohan is the founder and editor-in-chief of Stereokill.net. Email him at 
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