When Bruce Springsteen joins you onstage twice in two days -- and wants you to return the favour both times -- you know you're doing something right.

That's the enviable position Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem found himself in this summer, when he ended up sharing the spotlight with The Boss at two massive English festivals.

"It was the utmost validation of what we're doing," says the New Jersey singer-guitarist. "For me, that was it. I felt so proud.

"To have a guy like Bruce Springsteen come out and be like, 'Hey, you're doing a good job! You're carrying the torch,' " says Fallon, doing a spot-on Springsteen impersonation, "well, that takes it to a whole 'nother level, you know?"

Truth be told, anyone who's heard the four-year-old quartet's career-making sophomore album The '59 Sound knows Fallon has been carrying a torch for the Jersey Devil for some time. The critically acclaimed 2008 release is an unabashed homage to the sound and style of classic Springsteen -- from the slapback echo on Fallon's voice to the yearning protagonists in his songs -- intertwined with old-school soul, R&B and even the earthy punkiness of The Clash and Arcade Fire.

Growing up in the punk mecca of New Brunswick, N.J. -- where "they give you a pair of Converse and the first three Springsteen albums at birth" -- Fallon comes by his influences honestly. And unlike a lot of indie-rock hipsters, the 29 year old isn't ashamed to wear them on his sleeve and follow in their footsteps.

"We're not a band that's going out there to say, 'Hey we're going to write these great original things that no one's ever heard before.' We're not Radiohead," he says. "Radiohead is a very inventive band. They burst through genres and they redefine what Radiohead is with every record. And I think that's great -- but I can never do that.

"What we're doing is carrying on a tradition. And when you do a traditional style of music, all you have to do is put your own spin on it. That's really the only difference between Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan; Bob just put his own spin on it."

Fallon's spin includes heartfelt personal narratives stuffed with literary, cinematic and musical references -- the dozen tracks on The '59 Sound contain references and quotes from Charles Dickens, Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, Tom Robbins, Tom Petty, Miles Davis, Bob Seger and many more, including Springsteen, natch.

"I look at our music as a soundtrack and I look at the lyrics like a movie script," he explains. "And I try and write them so that people are watching the images go by in their head as they're hearing the lyrics. And when I reference another song it's because it's playing during a scene in that movie. At least, that's how I see it in my head."

For their much-anticipated followup -- which the band will begin crafting after their upcoming Canadian tour -- Fallon is seeing and hearing something new.

"I've acquired a great taste for English blues from the '60s and '70s -- John Mayall and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac. I can't get enough of it right now. I think that's coming through. So I think the spice to this will be a little different, but the meat will be similar."

Just don't expect his longing lyrics to change -- even though most of his dreams have come true.

"I've thought about that a lot, actually," he laughs. "That guy is mostly me. But that guy is also kind of everybody. And I think people search their whole lives for answers. As you grow older, your desires and goals change, but I don't think your longing goes away. I think the human condition is kind of about longing."

Which is to say: Everybody's got a hungry heart.