Bruce Springsteen's New Album Is His 'Angriest' Yet

6:00 AM PST 1/13/2012 by Tim Appelo, Shirley Halperin

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Danny Clinch

"He gets into economic justice quite a bit,” says an earwitness who's heard some of the music. "It’s very rock 'n' roll."

Bruce Springsteen is gearing up to release a new album with the E Street Band -- his 24th -- and a source tells The Hollywood Reporter it’s The Boss’ “angriest” yet.

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“He gets into economic justice quite a bit,” says an earwitness who’s heard some of the music. “It’s very rock ’n’ roll. He feels it's the angriest album he's ever made. Bear in mind, though, that [Springsteen] wrote and recorded the majority of the album before the Occupy movements started, so he's not just setting headlines to music.”

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Produced by Ron Aniello (Patti Scialfa, Jars of Clay), the album, which was recently played for label execs, is described as veering into “unexpected textures -- loops, electronic percussion … an amazing sweep of influences and rhythms, from hip-hop to Irish folk rhythms.” The still-untitled effort is said to be “terrific.”

While no release date has been set, Springsteen is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the music conference portion of South by Southwest on March 15 in Austin, fueling speculation that an album might coincide with the appearance. The boss and the E Street Band, which has lost two longtime members in recent years -- Danny Federici in 2008 and legendary saxophonist Clarence Clemons in 2011 -- also have a round of U.K. tour dates set for June.

Read more about Springsteen's forthcoming record, and 11 other new releases, in THR's post on the 12 most anticipated albums of 2012.

Twitter: @THRMusic