To be a fan of Brian Fallon is to be a fan of grit and romanticism and commitment to a story. A Brian Fallon fan is on the pursuit of understanding the human experience. A defiant lover of rock, and punk, and folk. A Fallon fan rolls with the punches and, whether they know it or not, is undoubtedly a fan of New Jersey.
With more than 20 years of consistently delivering on all aspects mentioned above, both as a solo artist and as the frontman of The Gaslight Anthem, Fallon returns with his fourth solo LP Not Bad for New Jersey, (fifth if you count Fallon’s holiday album Night Divine) an exploration on persistence and defiance in the face of anything.
Kicking off with the title track, Fallon dives right into a punchy self-reflection that acknowledges and celebrates the New Jersey grit he was raised with. It’s a love letter and a love song in its own right, something to expect all throughout the album. These songs take on non-traditional forms of power-pop and rock love songs. They explore what it’s like to get knocked around a bit and still push through. As expected from Fallon, they tell great stories and it starts with his own in this homage to Jersey.
Sonically, there’s just about every flavor of rock you can think of on this one. Songs like “Somewhere You Shouldn’t Be” and “Fading on Me” lean into more classic rock like Tom Petty with some Americana riffs and twang. “Nobody Likes You in NYC” reminds me of Counting Crows, specifically some sped up and harder version of “A Murder Of One.” I think an undertone of the whole record is really just modern, heartland rock. This is especially heard front and center on “Pearls” and “The Big Sleep.” The takeaway here is that this is an album made for fans of loud guitar, catchy melodies, great lyrics, and power-choruses.
A standout track for me, however, is “Love at the End of the World” where Fallon takes a more folky approach and enlists guest vocals from The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers. A love song that acknowledges permanence and the urgency of loving when you can because time is not infinite for any of us. It’s the softest song from the album and Flowers‘ backing vocals are haunting and beautiful; it’s truly a lovely pairing of distinct voices. It’s a floaty melody that sits like a feather against some of these more rocking tunes that surround it on the LP.
The thing that has made me a fan of Brian Fallon since day one is his constant dedication to vulnerable songwriting. Sure, there’s always some level of nostalgia and romanticism but that’s his voice. He’s not writing from a guarded place, but rather from a relatable position of just being another human. He’s a fan of life and a fan of music and he’s grown with that to write some fantastic songs. Not Bad for New Jersey builds on this and doesn’t retreat back for the sake of another release. To put it simply: he has only gotten better with age. Thanks New Jersey, you gave us another good one.
The record is out everywhere on 9/10 but you can listen to the pre-released singles here:
The Indy Review 