March 26 saw a drizzling night in London and the second sold-out show by The Gaslight Anthem for their three-day residency at the Roundhouse in Camden. Simultaneously, another reunion tour following a seven-year hiatus and promotion for their newest album and EP, History Books and History Books—Short Stories, The Gaslight Anthem ushered in a new era, though it was clear that many attendees remained stuck in the past. 

The sole opener was Emily Wolfe, who took to the stage with her southern drawl at the forefront. She had strong, sometimes gritty vocals as a performer and executed her own catchy riffs on her double-necked electric guitar. However, as with many of the songs throughout the night, even from the show’s headliner, her set met a lukewarm response from the crowd.

Following that, The Gaslight Anthem was next, appropriately accompanied by a backdrop of LED-lined bookshelves representing visuals for their newest album. They made for a unified front devoid of the internal conflicts of their past, and Fallon’s beaming from the stage made it clear that, no matter what, they were happy to be back. 

During the peak of their career, The Gaslight Anthem were critiqued in the shadow of Bruce Springsteen–an acknowledged influence and constant comparison that they eventually grew to accept. This was partially due to the 2015 LP Get Hurt’s negative reception to them experimenting with their sound and their growing relationship with Springsteen himself, which had the rock icon dueting with frontman Brian Fallon on the title track of History Books. Their current music was mature and retrospective, but it was unfamiliar and unexciting to many who would not delve beyond The ‘59 Sound and Handwritten that drew the Springsteen comparisons in the first place.

With that put into perspective, the band knew to stick closer to their audience’s interests, with over half of their setlist consisting of songs from their two most popular albums and only one track total from Get Hurt, which was “Halloween.” Even though it was closer to what was desired, the deeper cuts off of The ‘59 Sound and Handwritten were still received with little engagement. Despite the band’s strong performance, the crowd’s energy slumped significantly toward the middle, which included multiple mellow tracks off of both History Books releases and even hits like “Here’s Looking at You, Kid” performed with the UK-based duo Blue Violet. By comparison, everyone roared to life for the upbeat tracks a little too late, explicitly calling into example Handwritten’s “Mulholland Drive” toward the end of the set, and it persisted through the solid concluding sequence of “‘45,’” “The ‘59 Sound,” and “The Backseat.” 

Partway through the show, one of Fallon’s casual interjections was a notable commendation of new music and new artists, especially meaningful coming from a band historically confined to a box and dissuaded from shifting their sound. The frontman described his daughter’s attachment to a song on the radio before launching into their gritty, punk-infused take on Billie Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes,” which had just been released with their History Books—Short Stories EP. 

Ultimately, The Gaslight Anthem was locked in a time capsule of their past by their fans, which made sense for their reunion tour but did little to benefit their newest releases. Filling the venue with growling vocals and upbeat riffs, the band’s performance was a definite strength of the night, victoriously back in action–it was only the whiplash responses between their signature hits and everything else that inadvertently dampened the mood. 

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