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Brian Fallon (second from left) has this advice for yong bands:Get in the van! (© Jeremy Harris/Retna Ltd./Corbis)

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What does MusicRadar mean when we ask 'Are The Gaslight Anthem the next Kings Of Leon?' Do we mean the band is ditching their Jersey roar for a southern howl? Are they about to recuit their extended family? Are they letting their moms cut their hair while blindfolded? Have we discovered they're really sons of Pentecostal ministers? Did we recently come across a photo shoot they did with fashion models?

No, none of that. We mean that, just like the Followill boys, The Gaslight Anthem are about to capitalize on years of hard touring and release a new album, their third, that shows all the signs of breaking big. Really big. Kings Of Leon big.

And, like KOL, The Gaslight Anthem (singer and guitarist Brian Fallon, guitarist Alex Rosamilia, bassist Adam Levine and drummer Benny Horowitz), whose sound is distinctly American, are being embraced with greater fervor in the UK than in their homeland. But all of that is about to change.

American Slang (due out 14 June, 15 June in the US) also bears certain similarities to Kings Of Leon's breakthrough smash Only By The Night. Unlike the group's first few releases, its sound is bigger, grander, more polished but not at the expense of authentic, earthy roots.

Songs such as Orphans, Stay Lucky, The Queen Of Lower Chelsea and the title track are slamming anthems all right, but they also display a bold leap lyrically for Fallon, who pens heart-on-his-sleeve sentiments with the kind of hard-fought wisdom of somebody twice his age.

MusicRadar sat down with Brian Fallon, an eloquent and effusive conversationalist, to discuss American Slang, guitars and gear, songwriting and demoing...and a certain New Jersey booster who goes by the name of Bruce.

Even though New Jersey has given the world one of the greatest rockers of the ages, the state still gets a bad rap. Why do you think that is?

"I don't know, but it's fascinating and perplexing. Maybe it's because Jersey is viewed as some sort of distant cousin to New York. For some reason, though, that doesn't spread to Connecticut, or even Long Island. New Jersey's always the butt of jokes. It makes no sense. Bruce Springsteen's from Jersey - and hey, don't forget Frank Sinatra, man. When he was alive, do you think anybody would've dared to make a Jersey joke in front of Frank? I'm sure that wasn't done at all."

Shifting from New Jersey to the UK, you've got some high-profile shows coming up there soon. You're going to play the Reading & Leeds Festivals, and you're opening for Pearl Jam in Hyde Park.

"Yeah, we've got some cool gigs there, for sure."

Why do you think you're being embraced so readily by the UK music scene when you haven't yet become massive in the States? Your scenario mirrors, to some extent, what happened with Kings Of Leon a few years ago.

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