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Tracklist:

1. Spider Bites
2. History Books
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

Like so many of the most essential rock bands, The Gaslight Anthem have a rare gift for finding glory in the inescapable pain of being alive. On their new album History Bookstheir first new music in over nine yearsthe New Jersey-bred four-piece bring their soulful breed of punk to ten thrilling songs exploring everything from mortality to mental illness to the more precarious dimensions of human connection. In the tradition of their seminal sophomore album The 59 Sound, The Gaslight Anthems sixth full-length ultimately achieves the tremendous feat of hitting every raw nerve while endlessly inspiring wildly triumphant singing-along.

A lot of this record is questioning all the bad stuff we see in the world and the difficult things we go through in life, and asking how to deal with it, says vocalist/guitarist Brian Fallon, whose bandmates include drummer Benny Horowitz, bassist Alex Levine, and lead guitarist Alex Rosamilia. I think the answer is that were all in this together and that somehow makes it okay, even when its anything but easy. The main message of the album is empathy.

The first release from their own Rich Mahogany Recordings (a label distributed via Thirty Tigers), History Books finds The Gaslight Anthem working with acclaimed producer/engineer Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Death Cab for Cutie) and recording at his Bridgeport, CT-based Tarquin Studios. Featuring a guest appearance from longtime Gaslight Anthem champion Bruce Springsteen, History Books matches its unfussy yet gracefully crafted sound with the force-of-nature energy thats defined the band since getting their start playing basement shows back in the mid-aughts.

Making this album clarified that we want to keep doing what weve always donebecause no one else can do it in quite the same way, and thats something Ive started to become very proud of, says Fallon. At the end of the day its just rock-and-roll music, but I really do believe it can have a positive impact on peoples lives. I think theres so much beauty and magic in that.