Brian Fallon can’t slow down.
For 20 years, the Central Jersey-born singer, songwriter, and storyteller has operated at a relentless creative pace. Whether fronting high-octane neo-classic rock stalwarts The Gaslight Anthem or crafting intimate solo material, Fallon’s artistic drive has rarely afforded him a moment to rest on his laurels. Just as one project reaches its fruition on stage, his mind is orbiting a next collection of songs.
That perpetual motion was on full display in recent years. While on the road touring in support of The Gaslight Anthem’s acclaimed 2023 reunion record History Books — a campaign that included massive festival appearances like a bow at Sea.Hear.Now in Asbury Park that featured a guest appearance from Bruce Springsteen and a high-profile amphitheater tour alongside Counting Crows — Fallon was quietly writing his fourth solo LP, Not Bad For New Jersey. Now, as he travels the globe performing those new solo tracks live, he tells The Pop Break that has already written 10 songs for the next Gaslight Anthem record.
For Fallon, this overlapping workflow is not a calculated career strategy; it is simply the natural byproduct of a songwriter who finds joy in the daily craft of creation.
The Relentless Engine
“Usually it’s when the band gets really busy and then they want to take time off,” Fallon explained regarding his decision to pivot back to solo work following The Gaslight Anthem’s recent album cycle. “So every time the band gets really busy, after that they’ll say, ‘OK, we want to go home for a little while,’ and I’m like, ‘I’ve got more ideas.'”
Rather than viewing downtime as an opportunity to rest, Fallon channels that momentum into new compositions.Â
“Some people just get so excited and they want to keep working — because to me, it doesn’t feel like work at all, you know? It’s fun, so I want to keep doing it,” Fallon noted.
That enthusiasm has fueled an extraordinary period of output. While fans are currently digesting Not Bad For New Jersey — which was preceded by a duet with Madi Diaz on Carole King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” for the soundtrack to Ready or Not 2: Here I Come earlier this year — Fallon is already immersed in the early stages of the Gaslight Anthem’s next chapter.
Inside ‘Not Bad For New Jersey’
Released in September via his own Lesser Known Records, Not Bad For New Jersey captures Fallon at his most vibrant. Recorded just outside of Nashville, the album pairs hot-blooded sincerity with a frenetic collision of power pop and heartland rock.
The album also features a star-studded lineup of guest collaborators who lend their distinct flavors to Fallon’s songwriting universe, including Brandon Flowers of The Killers who joins Fallon for a standout vocal duet on “Love at the End of the World,” as well as Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen, who adds sharp guitar work to “Somewhere You Shouldn’t Be,” and avant-garde guitarist Marc Ribot, best known for his work with Tom Waits, who brings richly brings textured passages to the album-closing “Wolf by the River.”
The result is a collection of songs that unabashedly by and large rocks harder than Fallon’s recent acoustic and thematic solo efforts, such as 2020’s Local Honey or 2021’s holiday songs and hymns collection Night Divine. Not Bad For New Jersey leans into driving rhythms, 1980s Bryan Adams-inspired hooks, and tastefully throwback guitar and synth flourishes, offering a bold statement of purpose from an artist still expanding his solo vocabulary.
Returning Home: The Starland Closer
As Fallon prepares to wrap up his global tour in support of Not Bad For New Jersey, all roads lead back to where it all began in the Garden State.
The tour will culminate with a homecoming performance at the iconic Starland Ballroom in Sayreville on Thursday, December 3. For Fallon, performing at Starland is the quintessential way to celebrate a record named in honor of his home state.
The evening promises to be a celebratory affair. Joining Fallon on the bill is Gregor Barnett, frontman of The Menzingers, alongside rising Asbury Park act Not Yer Baby.
Delineating Solo Exploration from Gaslight Anthem’s Explosive Punk
With History Books presenting a somewhat more tender, reflective side of The Gaslight Anthem, and Not Bad For New Jersey delivering plenty of high-energy rock ‘n’ roll, some listeners may have wondered whether the boundary between Fallon’s solo lane and his full band efforts had begun to blur.
Fallon acknowledges that when a single principal songwriter drives both endeavors, occasional stylistic overlap is natural. However, he emphasizes that clear distinctions remain — and will become even more pronounced.
“I’m 10 songs deep into the new Gaslight thing and they sound nothing like this, it’s full-on Gaslight, it’s just the most explosive,” Fallon stated. “Up until this point, I would definitely agree that some of the songs could have been flipped, and that happens a lot when you’re the primary songwriter.”
Fallon views his solo career as a flexible sandbox for stylistic experimentation, a space where he can explore mid-tempo roots music, atmospheric songwriting, or homage-rich genre pieces without constraint.
“My stuff, I think, is more free to experiment in like mid-tempo like Tom Waits land or Neil Young land or even like Cameron Winter land, that kind of stuff,” Fallon explained. He added that having separate outlets lets him chase distinct stylistic impulses: “And then it allows me as an artist to experiment more with like, ‘This record I want to go like in the ’80s Bryan Adams vibes, but maybe next record I want to make my Tom Waits record, which I don’t feel I’ve done yet. So, it’s kind of cool to have like little little places to go.”
