Review Summary: Solid but uninspired
When Brian Fallon announced that The Gaslight Anthem were going on an indefinite hiatus last year there were many possible directions for his career to take. Seeing as the man is a compulsive songwriter he was never going to stay quiet for too long, and fans wondered if a second Horrible Crowes album was around the corner or whether Fallon would form yet another new band. As it happens he decided to record his first solo album and enlisted Butch Walker to produce it. This could have been a chance to truly reinvent himself as he threatened yet failed to do with
Get Hurt, the most recent Gaslight offering, but instead Fallon has decided to play things safe in a move that will satisfy many but leave others wanting a little more.
The first half of the record is a consistent affair during which the instrumentals are solid, Fallon's vocals are as soothing as ever and the hooks are engaging. Opener 'A Wonderful Life' sets the bar pretty high and boasts a great chorus, while 'Nobody Wins' offers a comparably up-tempo ride through familiar Fallon territory. Another highlight is 'Rosemary' with its beautifully executed melodies and infectious hey hey hey refrain.
Painkillers' ever present acoustic guitar offers the only noticeable change from a Gaslight release, and sounds especially good on slow burner 'Steve McQueen'. This is the sort of ballad that's appeared on everything Fallon has recorded to date, so while it is an enjoyable song it's also one that sounds far from fresh.
The same is also true of the lyrical content and songwriting on offer here. Fallon has rarely deviated from the verse-chorus-verse-chorus formula in his career and he hasn't seen fit to do so with
Painkillers either. Additionally we get the same lyrical tropes about long lost lovers, radios, begging for sympathy and longing for the past which Fallon got away with for a good four albums but have now become tiresome. Of course it's not for me to dictate what anyone sings about, and Fallon has by no means become a bad lyricist, I just feel that a few new ideas were needed in this regard. Maybe he doesn't feel comfortable with stretching himself, or maybe he is still exorcising the ghosts of his recent divorce, and that's fine but the repetitive nature of Fallon's songwriting stretching back several albums across a few different bands is now starting to lessen its impact.
Several of these tracks first entered the world as part of an excellent online release from Molly and the Zombies, another Fallon side project. 'Smoke' is the pick of these, but all three have been rerecorded and slowed down for this album and are a little less engaging as a result. 'Mojo Hand' is a song that hints at doing something interesting but doesn't really follow through on its funky start and soon becomes nondescript, before 'Open All Night' concludes proceedings on a rather average note.
Nonetheless,
Painkillers is a pleasant listen and there aren't really any bad songs. It's just a shame that there aren't any great ones either. Nothing quite matches the drive of
The 59 Sound or the atmosphere of
Elsie and at times the album sounds overly familiar. It's certainly an upbeat offering that will please many die-hard fans of Fallon's work, but won't sway any of his detractors. Whatever Fallon decides to do next, perhaps its time for him to take a few more risks with his songwriting and commit to doing something different. We know that even when he plays safe Fallon is sure to produce good albums, but we also know that he's capable of great ones. This isn't quite that.
