Taking a short breather from the Springsteen-influenced Gaslight Anthem, frontman Brian Fallon's highly anticipated collaboration record with friend Ian Perkins is finally ready for release. Billed as the Horrible Crowes, the pair's debut Elsie showcases a different side to the New Jersey rocker. Check it out for yourself via a full-album stream here on Exclaim.ca.
The 12-song LP, due out today (September 6) via SideOneDummy, allows fans a chance to reflect on Fallon's more sombre influences. He previously described the project thusly: "If Tom Waits, the National, the Afghan Whigs, Bon Iver, and Nick Cave made a band with Percy Sledge that'd be called the Horrible Crowes."
Producing an undeniably calmer sound, Elsie highlights Fallon's first experimentations with drum loops and string arrangements -- and it works. The not-quite-rock, not-quite-folk sound on the album gives glimpses into why it's been described as a "tortured and sometimes beautiful beast."
And Gaslight Anthem fans, don't worry: most of the tracks maintain Fallon's distinct style of delivery, perhaps just sounding a little more mature. He summed it up exactly when he said, "It's not the kind of thing where you get wasted and listen to some music. It's more, 'I'm going to take my lady out and watch a band play and it's going to be quiet and then we're going to go home and have a lovely evening.'"
The duo will be playing a couple of intimate venues in support of Elsie, but for now, you can stream the album in its entirety below.
UPDATE: This stream is no longer available.
The 12-song LP, due out today (September 6) via SideOneDummy, allows fans a chance to reflect on Fallon's more sombre influences. He previously described the project thusly: "If Tom Waits, the National, the Afghan Whigs, Bon Iver, and Nick Cave made a band with Percy Sledge that'd be called the Horrible Crowes."
Producing an undeniably calmer sound, Elsie highlights Fallon's first experimentations with drum loops and string arrangements -- and it works. The not-quite-rock, not-quite-folk sound on the album gives glimpses into why it's been described as a "tortured and sometimes beautiful beast."
And Gaslight Anthem fans, don't worry: most of the tracks maintain Fallon's distinct style of delivery, perhaps just sounding a little more mature. He summed it up exactly when he said, "It's not the kind of thing where you get wasted and listen to some music. It's more, 'I'm going to take my lady out and watch a band play and it's going to be quiet and then we're going to go home and have a lovely evening.'"
The duo will be playing a couple of intimate venues in support of Elsie, but for now, you can stream the album in its entirety below.
UPDATE: This stream is no longer available.