Brian Fallon Talks with Upset Magazine

Happy for Brian but the more interviews I read, the more I think Gaslight is officially done.

 

Yeeeeeeah, always kinda get that vibe from him too.

 

I really liked Get Hurt, didn't know there was such a bad response to it. I like all of their albums and how they are all a little different. I think I'd be okay if we never get another Gaslight Record they have a pretty satisfying discog.

His solo album was great. Would like to hear more from Horrible Crowes too but it sounds like a 2nd solo album is planned for the next release.

 

I still feel like Gaslight will return at some point. It's just too important to a lot of people. Plus, Alex and Ian still play with Brian, so it's not like the group is fully broken up. I am glad they aren't forcing material out there though if no one is feeling into it.

 

Looks like we're getting that second solo record after all! Hopefully it's Elsie Pt.II

 

I can't put into words how much I love and respect this dude. And even beyond that, I can't put into words how great every record he's put out has been. I'm excited for whatever he decides to do next, whether with Gaslight or on his own or whatever.

 

Here's a short article where Brian is pretty clear that Gaslight could be back down the road.
A year on from The Gaslight Anthem's last show, Brian Fallon reflects at Reading 2016

 

Great opening line to this article:
Brian Fallon returned to Reading Festival this weekend under very circumstances.

 

That's what so many people were hoping for with Painkillers, and it feels like they were let down. But Painkillers is really solid. Nobody Wins has gone from being a middle of the road track on the album to one of my favourites of the year the more I listen. Honey Magnolia, the title track and Mojo Hand (for a different sound from Brian) are all great. I look forward to seeing where he goes next now that people aren't expecting Elsie pt II (even if they are hoping for it).

 

I hear ya, on the people being let down part. Im really glad we got Painkillers and that folksy/americana sound from him. I'm completely game to get something along those lines again, maybe even less polished than Painkillers.

In the meantime though, I'll daydream about Elsie Pt.II since he hasn't closed the door on the idea!

 

What do you consider the strongest tracks on Painkillers? And for that matter the strongest on Elsie? I feel like the strongest songs on Elsie do still beat out those from Painkillers, but it's a lot closer than I felt initially.

 

I'm actually the total opposite of his single rollout strategy, besides Wonderful Life and Painkillers. I don't mind the latter of the songs, I don't love it either. It just kind of exists.

My favorites on PK are Wonderful Life, Among Other Foolish Things, Smoke, Rosemary, Red Lights, Honey Magnolia, and Open All Night.

Elsie I love everything besides Hurricane. Sugar is probably my favorite track on the entire record.

 

I think I prefer Painkillers to Elsie, which in no way discredits Elsie.

From Painkillers I really dig every single song other than Mojo Hand. Georgia should have been on the album instead.

With Elsie, I either REALLY love a song or REALLY hate it. I've been scrutinized before for saying this, but I don't love Mary Ann, I Witnessed A Crime, or Jesus Brought Us Together. On the other hand...the rest of the album is pure glorious and Blood Loss is the best song he's ever written.

 

Painkillers is my AOTY at the moment. Elsie is - potentially - my very favorite album of all time. They're just such different animals, but I think they're essentially perfect.

I also think that Get Hurt was just so different from their previous stuff that the backlash was inevitable. With '59, American Slang and Handwritten, they made essentially three movements to the same musical idea - they dovetail one into the other. In my mind, it's a true trilogy (even if that's not at all what the band was going for). GH was a massive departure from that sound. On its own, it's not just a good record - it's a GREAT record. But it also doesn't seem like a Gaslight Anthem record; it feels like a different project, like the Horrible Crowes or his solo stuff.

I don't know if any of that makes sense to anyone else, but it does to me.

 

It's a shame he feels like everyone hates 'Get Hurt'. I honestly thought it was a wonderful record which stands strong with the rest of their discography.

I absolutely loved 'Painkillers' and can genuinely say that I would prefer something it that vain over another record that sounds like 'Elsie' which is my least favourite in the Fallon catalogue (still love it though).

Mainly, I am happy that he seems to be happy though.

 

I'd love another Gaslight album, purely because I don't want Get Hurt to be their last. It wasn't a bad record, but it was definitely their worst.

 

Maybe not his best ever but Blood Loss is my favourite from Elsie and definitely one of his top songs.

 

Loved Painkillers but hoping for something a little more "edgy" or "bluesey" a-la Horrible Crowes next time round :)

 

I don't think Brian is referencing Gaslight fans as much when he says everyone hated it. It still opened pretty well despite them releasing a grunge-sounding song beforehand. I just don't think the record did all that well for the casual and new fan demographics. 45 and Howl off Handwritten did well in the public landscape. One on the radio and at sporting events, and the other on the tv commercial circuit. Every record leading up to GH kind of had a progression in popularity, but GH was overall a bit flat. It opened well and the die hard fans like it, but it didn't really have the lasting power to bring more people in. Had the band stayed together, I think the natural move would have been the "return to form" record. As Brian stated, the band was slowly becoming a more business/commercial machine. Gaslight doesn't need that imo. Take some time off and break up the cycle a bit. Return with a new album when there is something new to say, express, and most importantly, the passion is there again.

 

Wait I'm not American, Howl became popular?

 

I'll take Get Hurt over Handwritten every single day of the week. Handwritten sounds tinny to me. I don't hate the songs, but the production bothers me.

 

In the states, it was the music to a car commercial for a good while. Currently, Volkswagen is using the 1975's the Sound in one of their commercials here.

I should have phrased that part about Howl differently. It may not have necessarily been "popular" in the normal sense, but the song was successful in a different way.

 

I have to respectfully disagree, but to each their own. I really enjoy Handwritten. I really dig the Gaslight/Brendan O' Brien combo. I liked that it introduced a little more pop elements, but still had a good mix of punk and blues influences throughout. It was exactly what I wanted after American Slang. The run-up of Sink or Swim, Senor, '59, Slang, and Handwritten is so impressive to me. To have pretty noticeable changes on each record, but keep the essence of the band in tact was something I kind of took for granted at times.

Get Hurt for me, it had moments and songs where I'm buying in, but it just didn't have the same level of consistency throughout. I kind of thought Stay Vicious and Rollin' feel out of place on the record, let alone some of the first songs we heard. I thought 1000 Years and Get Hurt felt like the most single-ish tracks on the record. And imo, by the time we realized it, it was too late in the cycle. I also feel like the marketing was off on the record in general, but that's a different debate.

 

I like Painkillers a lot...pretty much every song except Mojo. I think I may be the only one who didn't love Elsie as a whole though I do really like a few songs on it (Behold, Go Tell, Black Betty).