Gaslight Anthem Give Credit

The Gaslight Anthem have been earning some major praise over the past year for being something entirely unique to the music world. Stores can barely keep their latest effort, The '59 Sound, on shelves. But vocalist/guitarist Brian Fallon admits they're really nothing new.

"I'd like to say we're brilliant, but it's not that simple," he says with a laugh. "There might be something unique, but it's hard for me to see.

"I know exactly where it's coming from. Some nights, I go up there and I'm trying to be Sam Cooke. People say, 'It sounds really new. You're doing something different up there.' I'm like, 'You just don't own the right Sam Cooke record.'"

What's so unusual about this New Brunswick, N.J. group? The quartet — completed by bassist Alex Levine, drummer Benny Horowitz and guitarist Alex Rosamilia — amalgamate punk, rock and soul influences.

Despite a strong punk upbringing, Fallon says that he innately gravitates towards soul music, Van Morrison and another New Jersey native, Bruce Springsteen. While many of The Gaslight Anthem's younger fans might not make the connection, Fallon is compelled by humility. He constantly refers to his heroes and asserts that respect for these musicians is of the utmost importance.

"You have to give credit where it's due. I've been cautious to make sure people know who our influences are. When I was a kid and heard a band, then accidentally stumbled upon the band they stole the riff from, I'd feel cheated. It would bum me out. If you call out your influences, no one can call you out on it. If you call yourself out on it, it's easier for others to take where it came from."

Fallon feels there's much room for The Gaslight Anthem to grow, and notes The '59 Sound is the direct result of striving to manipulate his inspirations into something distinctive.

"I was trying to work out the kinks as I was writing the different records, but I didn't know how to do it. It was a transfer process, which is why our last two albums came out so quickly. I don't think I've got it. There's more exploration to do. It was a starting point on Sink Or Swim, but it's like trying on pants: you have to keep going through pairs until you find the ones that suit what you have in your head. When you find the thing that's right for you, you know it.

"But I won't continue down that same path all the time. Hopefully, I'll get it right on the next record, but then I'll want to try something different. If you get something right, you gotta do something different, 'cause the only thing left to do is get it wrong. Nobody wants to hear the same thing over and over again."