The Gaslight Anthem Share Bruce Springsteen Duet 'History Books'

07-21-2023

History Books cover art

(BHM) The Gaslight Anthem have shared a new song "History Books," available now at all DSPs and streaming services on their own Rich Mahogany Recordings label via Thirty Tigers. The heavy-hearted track - which sees frontman Brian Fallon trading duet vocals with longtime band champion and fellow New Jerseyan Bruce Springsteen - is accompanied by an official music video (directed by Kelsey Ayres). The album was produced by GRAMMY Award-winner Peter Katis (The National, Kurt Vile) at his Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, CT.

"History Books" also serves as title track for the Gaslight Anthem's first new album together in almost a decade. HISTORY BOOKS arrives at last on Friday, October 27.

"When Bruce Springsteen said I should write a duet for us, I think my head exploded," says Brian Fallon. "It will never get old to me that one of the greatest songwriters in the world, and one of my hero's voices, will forever be captured in a song I wrote at a small wooden desk, in October, in New Jersey."

"When you have a band reach any level of success or popularity, that's a gift," Fallon says. "It's truly a miracle to be able to do your art for a living. Having the band come this far and be able to still find inspiration and connection in our music is a treasure. We're thrilled to be back, and we thank our fans for allowing us time to regroup."

The Gaslight Anthem's sixth full-length (and first release from their own Rich Mahogany Recordings, distributed via Thirty Tigers), HISTORY BOOKS sees the New Jersey-bred band once again bringing their soulful breed of life-affirming rock n' roll to explore everything from mortality and mental illness to the more precarious dimensions of human connection. In the glorious tradition of their seminal 2008 sophomore album, THE '59 SOUND, the new LP matches its raw emotional power with the rich craft and wildly triumphant energy that has defined the band since its very start.

"None of us wanted to make a very somber or serious record showing how much we've matured," says Fallon. "We've all changed and grown and learned so much, but the overall mood was a feeling of excitement to be back together and making music that means something to us."

HISTORY BOOKS was first heralded by this spring's arrival of the joyous "Positive Charge," joined by an official visualizer created by filmmaker Juliet Bryant (Death Cab for Cutie, Queens of the Stone Age, Beck) and streaming now at YouTube. "It's electrifying," declared Rolling Stone upon the song's premiere. "Opening with a stomping drumbeat and a skronky guitar lick, the track's dissonant attack is at odds with the optimistic message of the lyrics." Stereogum agreed, writing, "'Positive Charge' is about wanting to live a little longer and love this life again, and it's got the grand Springsteenian scope that makes the Gaslight Anthem so special."