Back when the Gaslight Anthem only had one full-length album out and a just-released four-song EP, I saw them open for the Loved Ones at the Unitarian Church in Philly, as part of a record release party for the Loved Ones’ second album. Only a dozen or so people were there for Gaslight Anthem, myself included. After the band finished its set, I met front man Brian Fallon and told him his band was going to get big. He shrugged it off, and came across as sheepish and shy. I saw the band several times over the next few years since that show, and they played bigger and bigger venues each time, and Fallon was more comfortable on stage, offering banter and smiles. At another show, I met the band again at the Trocadero in Philly because they were featured on the cover of Wonka Vision Magazine, a publication I was writing for at the time. I had the duty of handing out free copies of the magazine at the show, and the band showed it to their parents, who beamed with smiles. Far bigger things were to come for the group, which made the Wonka Vision cover pale in comparison. Since then, the band has gained a rabid fanbase, toured all over the world, and shared the stage with one of its biggest influence, Bruce Springsteen. The foursome has been featured in Rolling Stone, the New York Times, and countless other publications.

Today, the Gaslight Anthem released its fourth album and major label debut Handwritten. Anyone who heard the band’s first album, Sink or Swim, when it came out back in 2007, knew the band was capable of writing an album like Handwritten. Under the punk rock grit of Sink of Swim are big choruses and catchy hooks.

Handwritten is a stellar album on so many levels. The opening track, “45,” is reminiscent of old Gaslight Anthem, It’s fast, catchy, and fun. It also hits on a major theme of the band’s music- loss and nostalgia. “Let her go/Let someone else lay at her feet,” Fallon croons. The only other track that sounds like Sink or Swim-era Gaslight is “Howl,” one of my favorite songs on the record, and also the shortest, clocking in at about 2 minutes. The song doesn’t have any guitar solos or a huge hook, and because of that, it’s a welcome change in the middle of the album.

The rest of the tracks showcase the band’s ride range of influences. “Biloxi Parish” pays homage to the blues, and it has been a staple of the band’s set list for the last year and a half or so, though the studio version has a major lyrical change. The original version includes references to Asbury Park  music shows and the band’s Jersey roots in the final verse, but Fallon removed those lyrics for the album version, perhaps because the band is well beyond the Asbury Park days at this point.

The album’s title track, “Too Much Blood,” and “Desire” feature some of Fallon’s most heartfelt, emotive singing to date, as well as impressive, searing guitar solos by Alex Rosamilia. Lyrically, Fallon still references the past and long-lost eras just as much as he did on previous albums. There are plenty of references to youth, cars, and “Betty Davis eyes.” And on the track “Howl,” he poses the question, “Radio, oh radio, do you think there’s still some magic/left in our souls?”

The album concludes with the quiet track “National Anthem.” This song is just as haunting and well-written as the band’s other softer songs- “Blue Jeans and White T-shirts” and “Here’s Looking at You, Kid.” Like those other songs, “National Anthem” references fleeting youth and old loves. Fallon declares, “I will never forget you, my American love.”

Handwritten is the album the Gaslight Anthem has been building up to, ever since they released Sink or Swim. More than any album, it includes all of their influences: punk rock, Bruce Springsteen, classic rock ‘n roll, the blues, gospel, and soul. I wouldn’t be surprised if these songs land the band in arenas, which is the obvious next stage of the group’s career. The new album’s huge hooks would sound great played to 20,000 new fans.