Handwritten (The Gaslight Anthem album)

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Handwritten is the Gaslight Anthem’s fourth studio album and their first with a major label. It was released on July 24, 2012, through Mercury Records and produced by Brendan O’Brien. The lead single was “45,” and the album features liner notes by Nick Hornby. Recording took place January 23–February 18, 2012, at Blackbird Studios in Nashville.

The album was well received and charted strongly, reaching No. 3 in the United States and No. 2 in the United Kingdom, with top-ten positions in several other countries. It received a generally favorable score of 71/100 on Metacritic. The Gaslight Anthem had signed with Mercury in October 2011 after leaving SideOneDummy Records.

Handwritten debuted with about 40,000 copies sold in its first week in the U.S., making it the band’s highest-charting album there. The song “Howl” later became the New Jersey Devils’ goal song during the 2015–16 season, and in February 2024 the Devils played a game where the band performed “Howl” every time they scored. The music video for “Here Comes My Man” features actress Elisha Cuthbert. All tracks were written by Brian Fallon, Alex Rosamilia, Alex Levine, and Benny Horowitz, with exceptions noted.