American Slang

American Slang
Studio album by The Gaslight Anthem
Released	June 15, 2010 (2010-06-15)
Recorded	February 1 - March 1, 2010 at New York Magic Shop, New York, U.S.
Genre	Punk rock, heartland rock, Americana, folk punk
Length	34:13
Label	SideOneDummy
Producer	Ted Hutt
The Gaslight Anthem chronology
Live at Park Ave. (2009) American Slang (2010)

American Slang is the third studio album by New Jersey based rock group The Gaslight Anthem. It was released on June 15, 2010 on SideOneDummy Records, which released their previous album, The '59 Sound. The album was produced by 'The '59 Sound producer Ted Hutt.

Writing

Fallon stated in an NYC in-studio session, "All these songs came to me in my head. I didn't sit down at the guitar or piano or write lyrics, they all just were kind of there one day."

Lead singer songwriter Brian Fallon said that American Slang will move away from the 1950's inspired sound of The '59 Sound. He began writing for the new album in the summer of 2009 while on tour in support of The '59 Sound.

Recording

The album was recorded and produced at the New York Magic Shop record studio.^{[citation needed]}

Release

The album was released on June 15, 2010 on SideOneDummy Records. It is the band's second release for the label.

The band released the first single from the album, "American Slang", on their Facebook page on March 23, 2010, along with a full tracklist and cover art.^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	80/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Absolutepunk.net	(93%)[3]
The A.V. Club	(A-)[4]
Allmusic	[5]
Slant Magazine	[6]
musicOMH	[7]
Pitchfork Media	(7.3/10)[8]
Sputnikmusic	[9]
NME	[10]
Drowned in Sound	[11]
Rock Sound	[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Spin Magazine	[14]
Popmatters	[15]

Uncut magazine (July 2010 issue) gave American Slang a 5 star rating and declared it its 'album of the month'. "American Slang delivers spectacularly on all expected fronts. Everything that was great about The '59 Sound is here, but the sound is even bigger, epic without getting blustery." Rock Sound magazine gave the album a 9/10 and also declared it its 'album of the month'.

In December 2010, Exclaim! named American Slang the No. 19 Pop & Rock Album of the year.^[16] Exclaim! writer Ben Conoley said "American Slang is somehow your old man and your best friend all at once."

Big Cheese magazine (June 2010 issue) also gave the album 5 stars, saying that "The Gaslight Anthem have created the all-American album that travels by keeping its subject matter to that which everyone can relate to: the pain of a broken heart, salvation from the radio and love by the lights of the bar. The record is a perfect marriage of expert storytelling, superb musicianship and classic melodies."

Classic Rock magazine gave the album 8/10 and declared that "New and old fans alike will be speaking American Slang this summer."

The album reached the #3 position on the UK midweek album charts during its first week.

The album debuted at #16 on the Billboard 200, moving 27,000 copies,^[17] and was the #1 independent album for that week.^[18]

"Rolling Stone" magazine gave the album 3½ stars out of five, saying that "American Slang arrives with serious advance buzz: The choruses are more sculpted, but the band's tough-as-leather rush is as hard as ever, and Fallon howls so hard, he sounds like he's aiming to get a section of the Jersey Turnpike named after him."

"Rolling Stone" named the album's song "The Diamond Church Choir" at #39 on their list of 50 Best Songs Of 2010.

The album currently holds a Metascore of 80% on Metacritic, based on 28 professional reviews.^[2]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Brian Fallon; all music composed by The Gaslight Anthem.

1. "American Slang" - 3:41
2. "Stay Lucky" - 3:09
3. "Bring It On" - 3:27
4. "The Diamond Church Street Choir" - 3:12
5. "The Queen of Lower Chelsea" - 3:39
6. "Orphans" - 3:23
7. "Boxer" - 2:47
8. "Old Haunts" - 3:30
9. "The Spirit of Jazz" - 3:13
10. "We Did It When We Were Young" - 4:16

Bonus tracks

1. "She Loves You" (iTunes Bonus Track) - 3:45
2. "American Slang (Acoustic)" (iTunes Pre-order) - 3:46

Australian Tour Edition Bonus CD

1. "American Slang (Acoustic)" - 3:46
2. "Boxer (Acoustic)"
3. "The Queen Of Lower Chelsea (Acoustic)"
4. "Antonia Jane [Lightning Dust Cover]"
5. "Tumbling Dice [Rolling Stones Cover]"
6. "She Loves You" - 3:45

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
German Albums Chart	8[19]

Credits

• Brian Fallon - lead vocals, guitar
• Alex Rosamilia - guitar, vocals
• Alex Levine - bass, vocals
• Benny Horowitz - drums

References

1. ^ "Gaslight Anthem share "American Slang." Punknews.org. March 23, 2010.
2. ^ ^{a b} "American Slang reviews on Metacritic.com". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/gaslightanthem/americanslang. Retrieved July 14, 2010. 
3. ^ "Absolutepunk.net review". http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1736662. 
4. ^ "Avclub review". http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-gaslight-anthem-american-slang,42126/. 
5. ^ Heaney, Gregory. "Review: American Slang". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1799441. Retrieved 16 June 2010. 
6. ^ "Slant Magazine review". http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/the-gaslight-anthem-american-slang/2151. 
7. ^ "musicomh review". http://www.musicomh.com/albums/gaslight-anthem_0510.htm. 
8. ^ "Pitchfork Media review". http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14355-american-slang. 
9. ^ "Sputnikmusic review". http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?reviewid=36599. 
10. ^ "NME review". http://www.nme.com/reviews/the-gaslight-anthem--2/11362. 
11. ^ "Drowned in Sound review". http://drownedinsound.com/releases/15449/reviews/4140220. 
12. ^ "Rock Sound review". http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Slang. 
13. ^ "Rolling Stone review". http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/american-slang-20100615. 
14. ^ "SPIN Magazine review". http://admin.spin.com/reviews/gaslight-anthem-american-slang-sideonedummy. 
15. ^ "Popmatters review". http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/126991-the-gaslight-anthemamerican-slang. 
16. ^ "Pop & Rock Year in Review". Exclaim!. http://exclaim.ca/Features/YearInReview/pop_rock_year_in_review_2010/Page/19. 
17. ^ "Drake's Thank Me Later Nears Half A Mil In Billboard Debut." MTV.com. June 23, 2010.
18. ^ "Independent Albums" Billboard.com. June 23, 2010.
19. ^ http://www.mtv.de/charts/album50