The Gaslight Anthem have just shared Little Fires, the latest single from their eagerly awaited new album History Books (out Oct. 27 on their own Rich Mahogany Recordings label via Thirty Tigers). It was produced by Grammy winner Peter Katis (The National, Kurt Vile) at his Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, CT. More than any of the band’s new songs to date, Little Fires reflects the band’s origins in punk rock. Furthering that connection, the track includes guest vocals from one of the genre’s current central figures: PUP frontman Stefan Babcock.
“Little Fires is like the opposite end of the spectrum from the frustration you feel in History Books,” says singer-guitarist Brian Fallon. “It’s an empowerment song, about refusing to play along with the kind of people who always seem to be throwing a grenade into the room for no particular reason.”
History Books is Gaslight Anthem’s sixth full-length and first in nearly a decade, finding 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.
The album was announced in July with the release of its title track. The heavy-hearted song — which sees frontman Fallon trading duet vocals with longtime band champion and fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen — was accompanied by an official video (directed by Kelsey Ayres).
“When Bruce Springsteen said I should write a duet for us, I think my head exploded,” says 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.” The first song from History Books, Positive Charge, came out earlier in the year and was released with an official visualizer created by filmmaker Juliet Bryant (Death Cab for Cutie, Queens of the Stone Age, Beck).
The Gaslight Anthem have already spent much of the year celebrating History Books and their recent return to action on a sold-out North American tour. Headline dates resume Sept. 16 and continue through early October. In addition, The Gaslight Anthem are set for top-billed performances at a number of upcoming festivals, including Louisville’s Bourbon & Beyond (Sept. 14), and Chicago’s Riot Fest (Sept 17).
History Books Track List
1 | Spider Bites
2 | History Books (ft. Bruce Springsteen)
3 | Autumn
4 | Positive Charge
5 | Michigan, 1975
6 | Little Fires
7 | The Weatherman
8 | Empires
9 | I Live In The Room Above Her
10 | A Lifetime Of Preludes
Gaslight Anthem Tour Dates
September
15 – Louisville, KY – Bourbon & Beyond
16 – Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe
17 – Chicago, IL – Riot Fest
19 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues Cleveland
20 – Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
22 – Columbus, OH – Bluestone
23 – Chesterfield, MO – The Factory
24 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
26 – Oklahoma City, OK – Tower Theater
27 – Wichita, KS – The Cotillion
29 – Sioux Falls, SD – The District
30 – La Vista, NE – The Astro
October
2 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
4 – Las Vegas, NV – Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
5 – Wheatland, CA – Hard Rock Live Sacramento
7 – Boise, ID – Knitting Factory Boise
8 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory Spokane
