Brian Fallon has announced his new solo album Not Bad For New Jersey, arriving digitally on 10 September 2026 through his own Lesser Known Records, with the physical release following on 11 September. It is the Gaslight Anthem frontman’s first album of original solo material in more than five years, and it lands alongside a new single, ‘Pearls’, out now.
A heavy-hearted but ultimately triumphant track addressed to those born into privilege, ‘Pearls’ sets the tone. “I’ve never been one to resent anybody for having certain advantages in life, and I don’t think there’s anything inherently pure in having to struggle,” Fallon says. “But I do think there’s real value in overcoming the odds stacked against you, because getting to the point of feeling like you’re actually worth something is one of the toughest mountains to climb.”
Produced by longtime collaborator Butch Walker at his studio outside Nashville, the album is described as a frenetic collision of power pop and heartland rock. It was tracked mostly live, with Walker on bass and piano and Eric Slick on drums, and it carries a guest list to match its ambition: Brandon Flowers of The Killers on the hypnotic ‘Love at the End of the World’, Def Leppard‘s Phil Collen on ‘Somewhere You Shouldn’t Be’, avant-garde guitarist Marc Ribot, and Grammy-winning songwriter Lori McKenna.
There is plenty of Fallon’s storytelling instinct on show too. The blistering ‘Nobody Likes You in NYC’ is a tender serenade to Dee Dee Ramone, written from the perspective of his ex-wife Vera Boldis.
“From the beginning I knew I had to fully lean into the passion and lunacy of all these songs,” Fallon says, citing Bryan Adams and The Police as touchstones. “The whole album came together so naturally, with a level of creative fulfilment I hadn’t experienced in a very long time.”
The record was first previewed by ‘Not Bad for New Jersey’ and ‘Better Before’, the latter co-written with Donovan Woods. It follows The Gaslight Anthem’s 2023 comeback History Books, their first studio album in nine years.
Not Bad For New Jersey tracklist:
- Not Bad for New Jersey
- Better Before
- Pearls
- The Big Sleep (feat. Donovan Woods)
- On Good Terms (feat. Lori McKenna)
- Nobody Likes You in NYC
- Love at the End of the World (feat. Brandon Flowers)
- Somewhere You Shouldn’t Be (feat. Phil Collen)
- Fading on Me
- Walkin’ Through the Garden
- Wolf by the River (feat. Marc Ribot)
