It’s rather difficult to find a band so lyrically reflective of our own lives that we begin to shape our lives, or how we perceive our lives, around lyrics of songs that we feel we need to.

This isn’t the case with The Gaslight Anthem. Critically dubbed as our generation’s Bruce Springsteen — a title sealed in stone when he joined the Jersey band on stage — embraces the old 1950s rock and roll mythology and film noir allusions to muster up the courage to create songs that sound as though they should come out of an old man, and not a group of 30-something’s from New Brunswick.

What has been deemed in the past as a cliche, The Gaslight Anthem made an album riddled with metaphors and allusions to cultural images that string together beautifully to make a record that one cannot help but see themselves in. “The 59′ Sound,” their critically acclaimed second LP, is by far their most ambitious and well-orchestrated album to date.

Released in 2008, “The 59′ Sound” made it onto many albums of the year lists, and won the approval of the Boss himself. By simply looking at the song list, it’s clear where their influence for the record came from. With songs called “Great Expectations” and “Film Noir” to name a few, any individual with a slight fascination with the era will hear an instant attraction to the swing-inspired Jersey punk songs.

On that album, the song “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” is by far one of the most intellectual pieces seen on any of the three records they have released. As with many songs on “The 59′ Sound,” it is named after a cultural iconic book by Tom Robbins. The range of singer Brian Fallon’s lyrical abilities is shown perfectly in the creation of this song, bringing in not only the themes of the book, but a relation to the everyday lives of people growing up.

There is a certain Peter Pan complex in this song: hovering over the stage, many find themselves at in their 20s of realizing that out of nowhere, we have begun to grow old.

Yet, we all cling onto aspects of our childhood and teenage years, aspects that give us comfort. The entire album clings onto the memories that give us that comfort of being 9 years old. It is so important for us to remember what it was that made us who we are, and this album pushes you into a state of nostalgia from which you find yourself comforted as are when you reach out for memories of your childhood.

This summer, The Gaslight Anthem released their third album “American Slang.” If there’s anything that one can take away from Fallon’s punk-infused voice simply obliterating any criticism against them, it’s his honesty.

The album closer, “She Loves You,” tugs at the heart so hard that once again, we find images of our own lives are thrown out at us from Fallon’s brilliant ability to understand the human heart at the age he is. He can look into the future and foresee how he will feel looking back on the memories of his life now and transform them into a story that appears to be about all of us. His voice, oddly reminiscent of Springsteen, creates a sense of desperation in the song.

Hearing him sing, and at times almost scream, the song begins to sound like Fallon is speaking directly to you. He has made a unique love song that isn’t optimistic per se, but not doubtful either, which you’ll find to be the case with nearly all of songs Fallon writes.

They give you honesty, they give you a story, but they give no answer and no judgment. All Fallon gives is a story, which is what a songwriter should do — give a story, one that listeners can become involved in, and come to a new conclusion on their own. Fallon is an active writer, the kind that sparks a change in whoever is listening.