Biography
Brian Fallon, a vocalist and composer whose work merges punk rock's raw drive with the emotional depth and structural finesse of heartland rock, first achieved recognition fronting the Gaslight Anthem before pursuing independent work. The Gaslight Anthem declared an indefinite hiatus in 2015 after five well-regarded releases, among them the 2012 chart-topping Handwritten. His initial solo album Painkillers appeared in 2016, followed by Sleepwalkers in 2018. Turning toward more intimate material on 2020's Local Honey, Fallon next issued Night Divine, a self-produced and self-recorded reinterpretation of classic Christian hymns.
Born January 28, 1980, in Red Bank, New Jersey, Fallon grew up with a mother who performed professionally in a folk ensemble, yet his earliest creative impulses drew equal force from punk and alternative rock. Recording under the name No Release, he issued the 16-song cassette-only collection The Coffeehouse Sessions in 1997. Soon afterward he joined the ska-punk outfit Surrogate McKenzie, which issued four self-released cassettes from 1998 to 2000. In 2001 Fallon started the short-lived Amping Copper, whose self-titled six-song set preceded the group's dissolution.
After self-producing the solo EP Cincinnati Rail Tie in 2004, he formed This Charming Man with himself handling vocals and guitar alongside Michael Volpe on lead guitar, Chris Clementi on bass, and Mike Leboeuf on drums. The quartet recorded the EP Every Little Secret, released in 2005, yet the lineup fractured when Clementi and Leboeuf departed late that year; bassist Alex Levine and drummer Benny Horowitz stepped in. Following Volpe's exit in early 2006, guitarist Alex Rosamilia joined and the band renamed itself the Gaslight Anthem.
The Gaslight Anthem's debut album Sink or Swim arrived in May 2007 and quickly built an underground audience that expanded into broader recognition with 2008's The '59 Sound. Bruce Springsteen, whose style exerted a significant influence on the group, invited the band to perform at his 2009 Hyde Park concert in London and later joined them onstage at the Glastonbury Festival that same year, also bringing Fallon out during his own headlining set. The Gaslight Anthem delivered their third album American Slang in 2010. The following year Fallon began the side project the Horrible Crowes with guitarist Ian Perkins, who had served as a guitar tech for the Gaslight Anthem; their first release, Elsie, came out in September 2011.
The Gaslight Anthem attained major-label standing with 2012's Handwritten on Mercury Records, though a corporate shift placed the subsequent album Get Hurt, a sequence shaped by Fallon's divorce, on Island Records in 2014. During the interval between those records Fallon assembled the side project Molly and the Zombies with guitarist and singer Brian McGee, bassist Catherine Popper, and drummer Randy Schrager; while they did not plan studio output, several live tracks were posted online. After completing a European tour in July 2015 the Gaslight Anthem announced their indefinite hiatus, and three months later Fallon confirmed plans to record a solo album. The first single "A Wonderful Life" surfaced in December 2015, and the full-length Painkillers followed in March 2016. It reached number 30 on the Billboard 200; one month later the Record Store Day exclusive EP Georgia appeared. Fallon spent much of the ensuing year touring in support of both projects. Two singles, "Forget Me Not" and "If Your Prayers Don't Get to Heaven," preceded his second solo album Sleepwalkers in 2018. After the comparatively rock-oriented first two solo efforts, 2020's Local Honey adopted a gentler approach for more personal narratives.
Born January 28, 1980, in Red Bank, New Jersey, Fallon grew up with a mother who performed professionally in a folk ensemble, yet his earliest creative impulses drew equal force from punk and alternative rock. Recording under the name No Release, he issued the 16-song cassette-only collection The Coffeehouse Sessions in 1997. Soon afterward he joined the ska-punk outfit Surrogate McKenzie, which issued four self-released cassettes from 1998 to 2000. In 2001 Fallon started the short-lived Amping Copper, whose self-titled six-song set preceded the group's dissolution.
After self-producing the solo EP Cincinnati Rail Tie in 2004, he formed This Charming Man with himself handling vocals and guitar alongside Michael Volpe on lead guitar, Chris Clementi on bass, and Mike Leboeuf on drums. The quartet recorded the EP Every Little Secret, released in 2005, yet the lineup fractured when Clementi and Leboeuf departed late that year; bassist Alex Levine and drummer Benny Horowitz stepped in. Following Volpe's exit in early 2006, guitarist Alex Rosamilia joined and the band renamed itself the Gaslight Anthem.
The Gaslight Anthem's debut album Sink or Swim arrived in May 2007 and quickly built an underground audience that expanded into broader recognition with 2008's The '59 Sound. Bruce Springsteen, whose style exerted a significant influence on the group, invited the band to perform at his 2009 Hyde Park concert in London and later joined them onstage at the Glastonbury Festival that same year, also bringing Fallon out during his own headlining set. The Gaslight Anthem delivered their third album American Slang in 2010. The following year Fallon began the side project the Horrible Crowes with guitarist Ian Perkins, who had served as a guitar tech for the Gaslight Anthem; their first release, Elsie, came out in September 2011.
The Gaslight Anthem attained major-label standing with 2012's Handwritten on Mercury Records, though a corporate shift placed the subsequent album Get Hurt, a sequence shaped by Fallon's divorce, on Island Records in 2014. During the interval between those records Fallon assembled the side project Molly and the Zombies with guitarist and singer Brian McGee, bassist Catherine Popper, and drummer Randy Schrager; while they did not plan studio output, several live tracks were posted online. After completing a European tour in July 2015 the Gaslight Anthem announced their indefinite hiatus, and three months later Fallon confirmed plans to record a solo album. The first single "A Wonderful Life" surfaced in December 2015, and the full-length Painkillers followed in March 2016. It reached number 30 on the Billboard 200; one month later the Record Store Day exclusive EP Georgia appeared. Fallon spent much of the ensuing year touring in support of both projects. Two singles, "Forget Me Not" and "If Your Prayers Don't Get to Heaven," preceded his second solo album Sleepwalkers in 2018. After the comparatively rock-oriented first two solo efforts, 2020's Local Honey adopted a gentler approach for more personal narratives.
Albums
Singles
