Get Hurt (album) explained

Get Hurt
Type:studio
Artist:The Gaslight Anthem
Cover:The Gaslight Anthem - Get Hurt.png
Border:yes
Recorded:March 10 – April 18, 2014
Studio:Blackbird Studios
(Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre:Alternative rock, heartland rock
Label:Island
Producer:Mike Crossey
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Get Hurt is the fifth studio album by American rock band the Gaslight Anthem. It was released on August 8, 2014, by Island Records. It marks their first album on Island Records, which absorbed the band and its previous label, Mercury Records.[1]

Produced by Mike Crossey and inspired by vocalist and guitarist Brian Fallon's divorce from his wife of ten years, the band was influenced by artists whose albums represented "career shifts".[2] [3]

Writing

The band announced on July 4, 2013, via their Tumblr site, that they were "working on new songs for a new Gaslight Anthem album in 2014".[4]

Fallon cited Pearl Jam's No Code album as an influence and inspiration for the album.[5]

In an interview with Rolling Stone published May 23, 2014, Fallon described the album as "completely different than anything we had ever done before. Instead of going that extra step of just adding some organ or some background vocals, this time we actually really changed up a lot of the sounds."[6]

A post on the band's official website advised fans to "Get ready for some things you've never heard this band do!"[7]

"That record is always going to puzzle me," Fallon reflected in 2018. "It was such a confusing time in general. We tried to do something specific and then didn't go all the way with it. We sort of pulled back. I'm not embarrassed by it, but I wouldn't make it again."[8]

Recording

On March 10, 2014, the band entered Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, to record their fifth studio album.[9] [10] The band stated on April 14 that they had arrived at the "last week in the studio" of recording the album.[11]

Release and promotion

On June 16, 2014, the band announced the title of the album and released a teaser video with a snippet of a new song (later revealed to be the album's opener "Stay Vicious"). On August 5, the entire album was made available to stream via iTunes Radio.[12] Get Hurt was released in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2014, by Virgin EMI Records, and in the United States on August 12, 2014, by Island Records.[13] The album was originally scheduled to be released one week later than its eventual release date.[14]

The band performed "Get Hurt" on Late Show with David Letterman on August 18.[15] In support of the album, the band toured North America and Europe during the summer and fall of 2014. Dates included Jimmy Eat World, Against Me!, Bayside, and Deer Tick, as well as festival stops at Austin City Limits Music Festival and the Ottawa Folk Festival.

Singles

The lead single from the album, "Rollin' and Tumblin'", was released on July 1, 2014.[16] The second single, "Get Hurt", was released on July 8, 2014.[17] The third and final single, "Stay Vicious", was released on July 28, 2014.[18]

Critical reception

Get Hurt received mixed reviews from music critics. Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average of ratings from mainstream critics, gave it a score of a 62, based on 29 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

In Absolute Punk, Craig Manning wrote, "It's disheartening that the album isn't the game-changing record Fallon promised, and it's too bad that it doesn't have the thesis-statement cohesion of albums like The 59 Sound and American Slang. But the songs are still great, the production is still excellent, and the performances of the band members have rarely been in finer form." Clash magazine's Mischa Pearlman rated the album seven out of ten, calling it "rock 'n' roll of the purest kind." Tim Jonze of The Guardian gave the album two stars out of five, saying "Get Hurt is nothing but the same old overblown rock sound with every dial turned up several digits past 11." Gregory Heaney of AllMusic rated the album four stars out of five, writing, "Get Hurt shows that so long as they're passionate about their music, it doesn't matter where the band are getting their inspiration from, because genuinely caring about something is always compelling."

Commercial performance

Get Hurt debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, selling 33,000 copies in its first week.[19] The album also debuted at number one on the Alternative Albums and Tastemaker Albums charts, at number two on the Top Rock Albums chart, and at number four on the Digital Albums chart.[20] [21] [22] [23]

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic:[24]

The Gaslight Anthem

Additional musicians

Production

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Label
AustraliaAugust 8, 2014Island
United StatesAugust 12, 2014
United Kingdom[25] August 11, 2014Virgin EMI

Notes and References

  1. How Universal Music Group's New Top-Level Troika Brings Peace (For Now) . Halperin . Shirley . . April 4, 2014 . July 8, 2014.
  2. Web site: The Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon Just Wants a Normal Person Life. Ozzi. Dan. Vice. August 10, 2014. August 6, 2014.
  3. Web site: Brian Fallon Interview on New Gaslight Anthem Album. Mejia. Paula. Red Bull. August 10, 2014. June 16, 2014.
  4. Web site: Europe 2013 Summer Tour Coming to a Close. . The Gaslight Anthem. 17 July 2013.
  5. Steve Baltin . Gaslight Anthem Singer: It 'Might Be the Weird Album Coming Up' . . December 17, 2012 . January 27, 2014.
  6. Gaslight Anthem Head to Nashville for 'Completely Different' LP . Rolling Stone . May 23, 2014 . July 8, 2014.
  7. Web site: The Gaslight Anthem Official Website . July 8, 2014.
  8. Paul. Rees. The life of Brian. Classic Rock. May 2018. 248. 80.
  9. Web site: Alex Levine – Twitter feed. April 12, 2014.
  10. Web site: Alex Rosamilia – Instagram. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/xandermilia/674040594066844903 . 2021-12-25 . registration. April 12, 2014.
  11. Web site: The Gaslight Anthem – Twitter Feed. April 14, 2014.
  12. Web site: Rutherford . Kevin . Stream The Gaslight Anthem's New Album 'Get Hurt' . . August 5, 2014 . August 6, 2014.
  13. Web site: Amazon.com – Get Hurt – Music. Amazon .
  14. Web site: The Gaslight Anthem Move Get Hurt Release Forward, Reveal Title-Track . Emily . . July 8, 2014 . July 14, 2014.
  15. News: Olivier. Bobby. WATCH: The Gaslight Anthem plays Letterman, backed by strings section . . August 19, 2014 . August 20, 2014.
  16. Web site: Amazon.com – Rollin' And Tumblin' – The Gaslight Anthem – MP3 Downloads. Amazon . July 8, 2014.
  17. Web site: TURN IT UP TUESDAY: What's New In Stores This Week (July 8) . . July 8, 2014 . July 14, 2014.
  18. Web site: Amazon.com – Stay Vicious – The Gaslight Anthem – MP3 Downloads. Amazon . August 2, 2014.
  19. Billboard 200: Did 'Guardians Of The Galaxy' Soundtrack Stay at No. 1? . Keith . Caulfield . Billboard . August 20, 2014 . August 20, 2014.
  20. Alternative Albums: The Week of August 30, 2014 . Billboard . July 18, 2018.
  21. Tastemakers: The Week of August 30, 2014 . Billboard . July 18, 2018.
  22. Top Rock Albums: The Week of August 30, 2014 . Billboard . July 18, 2018.
  23. Digital Albums: The Week of August 30, 2014 . Billboard . July 18, 2018.
  24. Get Hurt – The Gaslight Anthem – Credits – AllMusic . . Rovi Corporation. August 10, 2014.
  25. Web site: Get Hurt – Amazon.co.uk – Music. Amazon UK .