Really the only song on Handwritten I don't love is "Too Much Blood." There are probably 5-6 on Get Hurt that I'm similarly lukewarm on.
59 Sound is the top dog, but Handwritten just means so much to me. In some ways it's my sentimental favorite. I remember my dad and I playing the stream over and over again driving from Cleveland to Chicago to visit my sister. I had time off before I started a new job, that I was excited about. The summer Chicago weather was perfect. I continued to listen to the album stream on walks around the Lakeview neighborhood and on the lake. The trip was a lot of fun and the album blew me away. Just so much positivity and good change at the time.
I don't love too much blood either and I'm lukewarm on Howl, everything else is so wonderful, particularly the first 5 songs are up there with my favorite run of songs from anyone. I think Get Hurt and Dark Places are top 10 Gaslight songs (Get Hurt might be a top 3 song for me, I love it so much).
I mentioned earlier in the thread that it's currently like 75 and sunny in Chicago so today Handwritten will be blasting from my headphones lol
Haha yep I ended up moving to Chicago with my fiance, so it is full circle for me. I am looking out of my downtown office windows right now and itching to get out there after work. Perfect weather day.
Handwritten was the soundtrack to my “last summer before college” and my entire friend group is die hard Gaslight fans. Will always look back to the summer of 2012 as one of the best times of my life
Impossible to rank. I’ll echo the other post that I just love these records on their own merit and can’t rank them. one of the rare bands (Brian’s solo work included) where I have everything they’ve released on vinyl.
This is not meant to be aggressive in any way. I just always find it interesting when people have 59 and SOS as their two favorites when they sound so wildly different. Idk I think 59 sound is actually their "softest" album.
The '59 Sound Handwritten American Slang Sink or Swim (I agree it needs a remaster or it'd probably push out American Slang) Get Hurt
here comes my man, too much blood, biloxi parish, desire and national anthem have never worked for me
Wow. I would say the only bad song on Handwritten is "Desire" (but "Blue Dahlia" being so fucking awesome makes up for it!), and "Too Much Blood" sorta overstays it's welcome. My 'way too obsessive Gaslight fan' take on the album is that the earlier, live lyrics to "Biloxi Parish" (like how they played it at Rock Am Ring in Germany in 2011) were far superior and fit the song much better than the sorta meaningless rhyme that ended up on the album. But album version of "Biloxi Parish" is still an awesome song. "Mae" is a personal favorite of mine as well, and it makes me feel like there is an alternate reality where Elsie was a Gaslight album and it is incredible.
I feel the exact same way about Biloxi Parish, I played the shit out of that live version. Mae rules!