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LISTEN: Gaslight Anthem’s New Single

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The Gaslight Anthem made a name for themselves with their gritty take on Bruce Springsteen’s working-class rock — and “American Slang,” the just released title track off their upcoming album (out June 15), is no exception. Listen below.

The song opens with subdued guitars and a quiet drum beat, then kicks into an arena-filling rock anthem. Meanwhile, frontman Brian Fallon belts out lyrics about reaching for an American Dream that proves unattainable: “They cut me to ribbons and taught me to drown / When it was over I woke up alone / You told me fortunes in American slang.”

“American Slang is just what we do. That’s who we are,” Fallon recently told Paste magazine. “You’re presented with this American Dream and all these American possibilities — and then there’s the reality of what actually happens with your life.”

The Gaslight anthem have long been a SPIN favorite — Fallon even stopped by our offices for an outstanding unplugged SPIN session last year. And this past January, Fallon impressed SPIN with a solo acoustic set at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom.

LISTEN: The Gaslight Anthem, “American Slang”

Track listing for American Slang:
1. American Slang
2. Stay Lucky
3. Bring It On
4. The Diamond Church Street Choir
5. The Queen of Lower Chelsea
6. Orphans
7. Boxer
8. Old Haunts
9. The Spirit Of Jazz
10. We Did It When We Were Young