The Gaslight Anthem pushed aside expectations while working on latest CD

o What: The Gaslight Anthem, in concert.

o When: 9 p.m. Sept. 14.

o Where: McMenamins Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W. Burnside St., Portland.

o Cost: $28.05 through Ticketmaster, 800-745-3000 or http://ticketmaster.com.

o Information: 503-225-0047 or http://danceonair.com.

Before releasing its 2008 CD, “The ’59 Sound,” the Gaslight Anthem was just one of hundreds of new groups hoping to rise above anonymity. But after that album landed on numerous top 10 CD lists for the year, the Gaslight Anthem became one of rock’s biggest buzz bands.

This created a new challenge: living up to the expectations that come with that sort of acclaim. Perhaps surprisingly, Gaslight Anthem drummer Alex Levine said the band members didn’t feel much pressure during the making of the group’s new CD, “American Slang.” But they know the stakes for the group are higher now.

“Before, we had absolutely nothing to lose,” Levine said. “You’d just go out and play and you do what you had to do. But now there is something to lose. So there is that added pressure that you basically have to keep going, keep chugging along and get on the road and play your music and put out great records and do great shows.”

In fact, Levine said, it was only when the group got to the United Kingdom that he recognized that the playing field had changed for Gaslight Anthem — at least in Britain.

“We were put on a different level and we are looked at differently now,” he said. “Playing big shows day in and day out, you kind of get thrown into a different world. “

Music is an industry that requires bands to adjust or fall behind, Levine said. Now Gaslight Anthem is adjusting to the idea that it has hit the big time.

Time will tell just how much Gaslight Anthem’s profile will grow in the states with the release of “American Slang.” But the CD has the musical goods to be a breakthrough album.

“American Slang” is a bit poppier and less guitar-riff based than “The ’59 Sound,” but like that earlier album, the new release is filled with urgent and catchy anthems. Its standout songs include the rockers “Orphans” and “American Slang,” two songs that continue the feel and passion of the previous CD. The same could be said of “Stay Lucky,” a rocking song with a pop slant because of its prominent lead guitar line.

What also separates “American Slang” from “The ’59 Sound” are its ventures into new musical territory. On “The Diamond Church Street Choir,” The Gaslight Anthem successfully swings through some Jersey soul-rock. “The Queen of Lower Chelsea” blends reggae rhythms with a gritty melody to give a nice mid-album change of pace. “Boxer,” meanwhile, adds an element of first-wave punk.

Band members Levine, singer-guitarist Brian Fallon, guitarist Alex Rosamilia and drummer Benny Horowitz created ways to insulate themselves from outside expectations and pressure during the writing and recording “American Slang.”

The band set up shop in a friend’s basement to write and rehearse, then brought back the producer of “The ’59 Sound,” Ted Hutt. The group also recorded in the same studio.

“We got back to our roots and got back to what we know, and we just started writing music all over again in a basement,” Levine said. “And we got to the studio in a comfortable environment, with a producer that we enjoy and respect. He’s a wonderful producer.”

Now The Gaslight Anthem is back in another familiar environment — on the road playing shows.

Levine said the set list has evolved to feature mostly material from “American Slang” and “The ’59 Sound.” The drummer knows this may disappoint some of the group’s core fans.

“It is unfortunate when fans we’ve had for the past five years come out and they only hear two or three songs from our first record,” he said. “But the fact of the matter is that the rest of the people haven’t heard those songs. It’s kind of hard to play, ‘Diner’ (“We’re Getting a Divorce, You Keep the Diner”), I guess, to a couple thousand people, and maybe 10 people have heard that song.”