For some reason, The Gaslight Anthem have built themselves a fairly substantial fan-base both here and at home on the other side of the Atlantic. America's a strange place with curious tastes: how else do you explain the staggering success of the likes of Billy Ray Cyrus and Garth Brooks? Over here, though, it's a different matter, and I get the feeling that some bands only make sense in context of the American culture. Take, for example, Bruce Springsteen. He speaks of, and to, the American people. 'Born in the USA' just doesn't have the same resonance for the rest of the world. The Gaslight Anthem's last album 'American Slang' charted at # 16 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and hit # 18 in the UK, shifting over 26,000 units in its first week alone. Ok, it's not millions, and probably says a lot of the state of music sales, but it's not bad either.
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From said album, we have this double A-side single release. 'The Diamond Church Street Choir' is a spirited enough effort, but is nothing more than a mid-tempo pub rock toe-tapper in real terms, and not exactly memorable.
'Boxer' is classic US radio rock, a slightly indified Bruce Springsteen, from the rough 'n' ready vocals to the lyrics that reference music on the radio and becoming a man. These are all wholesome traditional elements of what constitutes America, and no doubt mean something to Americans. Unfortunately, like Vienna, it means nothing to me.
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