''Sink or Swim'' is the debut studio album by the Gaslight Anthem, released May 29, 2007, through XOXO Records.

Reception

Despite little attention from major critics, the album met with strong reception from independent critics.

Absolutepunk.net ''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to featu ...

received the album very positively, citing frontman

Brian Fallon Brian Fallon (born January 28, 1980) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main lyricist of the rock band the Gaslight Anthem, with whom he has recorded five studio albums. H ...

for having a "talent for creating lyrics and melodies that are simple and catchy, yet never forced or unintelligent." The review also called "I'da Called You Woody, Joe" (a tribute to

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, f ...

) the highlight of the records, and noted the similarities between the opening track "Boomboxes and Dictionaries" and

Against Me! Against Me! is an American punk rock band formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...

's “Sink. Florida. Sink.” Punknews.org also praised the album and made many similar observations. They called the record "the type of record that most young bands wish they could create to launch their musical career." Unplugged reviews noted that "The Gaslight Anthem blend anthemic punk-rock spirit with

Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

-influenced storytelling (together with a folk influence that recalls early

) to create a compelling, addictive whole." They also expressed appreciation for Fallon's "gruff vocals" and the contrast between up-tempo rockers like "We Came to Dance" and "Red in the Morning" and acoustic folk numbers like "The Navesink Banks" and "Red at Night."

Release

In December 2010, the album was re-released in Europe exclusively on

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

. This special release was limited to only 500 copies and featured a fold-out lyrics sheet.

Track listing

Personnel

;Band *

– lead vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, producer *

Alex Rosamilia Alex Rosamilia (born 1982) is an American musician. Rosamilia is one of the founding members of the band The Gaslight Anthem. He plays lead guitar and provides backing vocals for the band. Biography Early in his career he was involved in The Ki ...

– guitar, backing vocals, producer * Alex Levine –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals, producer * Benny Horowitz –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

, backing vocals, producer ;Production * Josh Jakubowski –

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...

, producer * Jason Livermore –

audio mastering Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via met ...

* John Clemmons – photographs * C. Spliedt – cover painting * Ed Hanks – layout

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sink Or Swim (Gaslight Anthem Album) The Gaslight Anthem albums 2007 debut albums