If there's anything that can be gleaned as remarkable on
Get Hurt, it's the Apollonian/Dionysian clash present on opening track "Stay Vicious". Brian Fallon has made clear that it was supposed to have such a jarring effect up-front, introducing difficulty by way of an apocalyptic and menacing riff descending headlong into a syrupy sweet chorus not unlike those found in the pander of The 1975. Evidently, The Gaslight Anthem realize writing the same Springsteen-flavored rocker over and over again is unproductive, with
Get Hurt in that respect being a total success.
The problem, then? Experimentation can only take you so far within the confines of pop music, and
Get Hurt carries much in the way of warts and unsightly errors. It's commendable that they have finally grown up, but when the best they can muster ranges from four-to-the-floor "Rollin' & Tumblin'" and the pristine indie pop wig-out of the title track, it raises the question of whether Brian Fallon has matured as a songwriter far too late into his career. Certainly there's solace to be found in this not sounding like
Handwritten or
American Slang, however highlights are scarce, from the trad acoustic "Break Your Heart" to Prom-ready rocker "Red Violins"; understandably, some may end up more than disappointed.
Like late-blooming puberty, many spectators are left with brows furrowed and giggles poorly concealed.
Get Hurt may have been a necessary move if we are to ever speak of The Gaslight Anthem again, but it's created an intentional waiting period with which we will have to endure until Brian Fallon 'returns to form' as a songwriter. Maturity can never be discounted; it's unfortunate though that in the end it sounds more
New Jersey than
Nebraska.
