Fallon's new solo album "Sleepwalkers" is the most exuberant and sonically expansive music he's written in years
It seems like a rock n' roll eternity since Brian Fallon last appeared comfortable in his own skin.
His solo debut, 2016's "Painkillers," was an exercise in defining not only a second act for the New Jersey singer, but a sound that would stand apart from The Gaslight Anthem, the locally beloved alt-rock outfit he fronted for nearly a decade.
The results were mixed; the album proved a somber, folk-tinged bridge from the last Gaslight Anthem LP, 2014's "Get Hurt" -- a heart-wrenching and harshly reviewed project Fallon admits was left unfinished in places -- with songs that felt more like B-sides from the old band than any sort of sonic reinvention. In fact, the best tunes from "Painkillers" proved to be new recordings of songs he'd written with a Bob Dylan-inspired side project called Molly and The Zombies, also in 2014.
In his defense, it's been an unsavory few years for the Red Bank-bred frontman: "Get Hurt" was a jagged reaction to his still-fresh-and-bleeding divorce and he's admitted frankly in interviews that once Gaslight announced its hiatus in 2015, he didn't really know what he was going to do.
But 2018's forecast appears much brighter. The Gaslight Anthem sent fans into frenzy last month with the announcement that it will reunite this summer for the 10-year anniversary of the band's best record, "The '59 Sound."
In the meantime, diehards can breathe in Fallon's new solo album, "Sleepwalkers," -- an exuberant and sonically expansive project comprising the most exciting music he's written in a long, long time.
While the album's moniker would suggest something of a misty, dream state, the songs are instead forceful, present and well-formed with a welcome shift to jaunty R&B and even Motown influences. Nods to Springsteen and Dylan still arise in Fallon's songwriting, but it feels as though Elvis Costello may have been the new muse this time, as the push and pull of '70s rock, power-pop, folk, and soul is deftly woven throughout.
From the first measures of opener "If Your Prayers Don't Get To Heaven," a ricocheting, roots-rock anthem than may be the best song Fallon's penned since the "Handwritten" hits, it's clear the tide has shifted: snapping fingers, a cool-handed guitar line and soft "ooh, oohs" lead into the singer's calling-card grit and drawl.
Bobby Olivier | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
It gets better still with the album's lead single "Forget Me Not," which hinges on an '80s pop guitar riff and a rejuvenated Fallon, screaming "Stacy! I'd like to take you to a movie / In a world without a death wish." I can't remember the last time I could honestly call a song written by Fallon "fun" but that's what this, and much of "Sleepwalkers" seems to be: a typically stormy songwriter finally catches a break in the clouds.
Synthy keys give extra umph to "Little Nightmares," and "My Name Is The Night (Color Me Black)" is a tight, meaty jam that -- like much of this album, I suspect -- will play well on stage, with Fallon's latest backing band iteration, called The Howling Wind. Fallon plays Starland Ballroom in Sayreville April 29.
On record, the arrangements could stand a bit less polish. I'd love to hear the demos to many of these tracks; the bones to these songs are strong enough to withstand a sharper edge and give Fallon's distinct, sand-spitting vocal more power over the instruments. My other main criticism with "Sleepwalkers" is the recycling of melodies from past works -- more than once you'll find yourself trying to place a "new" riff in an old song. That's been a challenge for Fallon, 38, and the Gaslight guys since "The '59 Sound" morphed the band from budding New Brunswick bar-sceners to global rock underdogs; Fallon's never been a particularly chameleonic songwriter.
But if you've stuck with Fallon's earnest, radio-lovin' Jersey-rocker pastiche all this time, you'll forgive the repeats for the fresh instrumental takes, from the backroom horns and sax on the title track to the modern, quivering guitar work on "Come Wander With Me." It's a pleasing mix, and "Sleepwalkers" is as loose and joyous as we've heard Fallon in at least five years. Though there's still themes of lost love and death mixed in, you can almost hear the forever Jersey boy smiling as he sings.
Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
