The soul- and R&B-heavy sophomore solo outing from the
Gaslight Anthem frontman,
Sleepwalkers builds on
Brian Fallon's 2016 debut via a heartfelt rendering of familiar classic rock and blue-collar bar band devices that invokes
River-era
Bruce Springsteen. Recorded in New Orleans with
Ted Hutt, who also helmed
Gaslight Anthem's exceptional
'59 Sound, the 12-track set is disarmingly earnest and occasionally rote in its rootsy underpinnings, but it's got hooks for days -- it also helps that
Fallon's raspy, emotionally charged voice has never sounded better. From the Studio A warmth of the Motown-adoring opener "If Your Prayers Don't Get to Heaven" and the juke joint swagger of "Forget Me Not" and "Neptune" to the hopeful, stripped-down folk-pop of closer "See You on the Other Side,"
Fallon unapologetically mines bygone eras for inspiration, but he does so with the care of an archaeologist on the biggest dig of his life. ~ James Christopher Monger