I will probably be burned in effigy for saying this, but I have never been a big Bruce Springsteen fan. I just don’t think his music or lyrics are that great — not even from his glory days of “Born To Run” and “The River.” Frankly, I find him a bit monotonous — “Nebraska” nearly put me in a coma.

But if you are a die-hard Springsteen fan, like my husband who was born in Red Bank, N.J., despite generations of Maine heritage, then you might want to check out the band The Gaslight Anthem. A new generation of alternative music fans knows this group, also from Red Bank, for its Springsteen-esque sound amped up with a little punkish twist and witty word play.

If you’re simply a rock fan who gets nauseous at today’s pop playlist and tired of regurgitated classic rock, then check out the new spinoff group from The Gaslight Anthem. The band’s singer, Brian Fallon, teamed up with his sound tech guy, Ian Perkins, to create The Horrible Crowes and a truly original sound with their album “Elsie” released this month.

Although it’s still Fallon’s voice, the songs on “Elsie” take a sharp departure from Gaslight’s manic releases “The ’59 Sound” and “American Slang.” From the first track the new album eases you into a melodic world that will make you think you’re listening to all of your favorite music at once. My husband thought it had a Cowboy Junkies sound. My 12-year-old daughter connected it to Cold Play. I heard Tom Waits, U2, Concrete Blonde and The Pixies.

To be fair, the sound of “Elsie” doesn’t really compare to anything. It’s that fresh. If it doesn’t get nominated or even win a Grammy for best alternative rock album this year, then the commercialism of the music industry will have overlooked originality that actually sounds like music.

The first two somber tracks, “Last Rites” and “Sugar,” actually lull you into wishing you had a broken heart so you could transform into something so beautifully tragic, and the next two, “Behold the Hurricane” and “I Witnessed a Crime,” bounce you into nonchalant apathy toward face of disaster. Then Fallon finally lets go with a growling Waits and impassioned Springsteen vocal in “Go Tell Everybody” that jolts you awake from introspection.

The mood roller coaster continues with a subdued “Cherry Blossoms,” a jauntier “Lady Killer” and “Crush” that crescendoes to the full in-your-face track “Mary Ann.” Before you think your emotions are going to explode, the album settles down with a ballad, “Black Betty and the Moon,” and sinks into an indulgent tryst with self-pity with “Blood Loss.”

And just as “Last Rites” seduces you into the album, the last track “I Believe Jesus Brought Us Together” lets you drift away into ethereal memories of lost loves and missed opportunities.

The only disappointment in the album is the actual CD. It is missing one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite bands — “Joey” by Concrete Blonde. The song, the only one not written by Fallon and Perkins, appears as a bonus track on the iTunes download version. Normally I like the physical CD. I like reading the liner notes and checking out accompanying photos, arts and messages; and I can’t stand the feel of buds stuck in my ears. But downloading this bonus track is worth it.

I want to thank Fallon for making this song bearable again after the pop country band Sugarland recently butchered it. I just can’t imagine that Concrete Blonde songwriter and singer Johnette Napolitano could relinquish such an angst-filled alternative anthem to a mainstream audience. Now, Fallon has transformed the song into a low grumble that epitomizes Springsteen, but he has at least restored its grit, grunge and alternative status. Let’s hope we hear more from The Horrible Crowes.