The Gaslight Anthem are back with a brand new song for the first time in over nine years. The New Jersey band went on hiatus in 2015, announcing that they were calling it quits in July of that year. They wrote on Facebook: “We wanted to let everyone know that we’ll all be taking a break from The Gaslight Anthem after this next European tour in August. We’re all going to do other projects and stay active in some way or another, both in and out of music, but we’d like to step away from the band until we decide what we’d like to do next.”
As a celebration of their 2008 album, The ’59 Sound, the rock band reunited for a series of anniversary shows in 2018 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the record. Shortly thereafter, they took a hiatus before confirming in 2022 that they had returned to the studio to work on their sixth album and announced a world tour.
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“I am very pleased to announce to you all that The Gaslight Anthem is returning to full time status as a band,” said vocalist Brian Fallon at the time. “We’re also beginning to write new songs for what will be our sixth LP. We’re very much looking forward to the future and seeing you all again. We want to thank you for staying with us. Stay tuned!” The Gaslight Anthem produced five albums throughout their career, beginning with 2007’s Sink Or Swim and ending with 2014’s Get Hurt. The band previously said the album was inspired by frontman Brian Fallon’s divorce from his wife of 10 years.
“Sometimes, I don’t even know how it happened. I don’t even know how it got like this,” said Fallon of the break-up. “All I know is that it did. And I now have to figure out: What do I do now?” Now The Gaslight Anthem have released their first music since Get Hurt with the new song “Positive Charge,” reported NME.
“‘Positive Charge’ began as a message of joy to ourselves and to our audience,” Fallon said via NME. “The central theme is about looking at the things you’ve come through and feeling like you want to go ahead with an open heart toward the future, believing that the best years are not behind any of us and the good we have is worth something.” Gaslight Anthem has also announced a series of US headline shows for September and October, in addition to the previously announced run of performances in May. Tickets for the new shows are available here.