 | The Hold Steady |
Somewhere between Springsteen, Robert Earl Keen and Bob Schneider, Craig Finn’s gravelly voice relates a story about partying, girls, the consequences of maybe having too many good times, and growing older…but mostly partying. In between these wonderfully dense and oftentimes amusing lyrical spans, The Hold Steady has piled on many familiar style guitar solos, along with harpsichord, organs, piano fills, piano solos, blasting drums, and even more guitar solos. The Hold Steady has absolutely packed Stay Positive with the most awesome rock ‘n roll elements that any rock fan looks for, and they have turned out a gem of a record which is fresh yet would feel equally at home in the 70s, the radio of the mid 90s or today. Follow the jump for the full review.
Stay Positive does not progress at an entirely breakneck pace the whole album, though it most definitely starts with one on the brisk opener, Constructive Summer. It definitely sends the record out of the chute, and it’s some parts typical track, some parts punch in the face as defined in our recent editorial on album sequencing. The band does not let up on the catchy Sequestered In Memphis (naturally about partying, or partying too hard and getting arrested), but then they take a bit less arena-rock sing-a-long style on One for the Cutters as in that song, the band lays down salty guitar licks between harpsichord verses (but still sing about partying). Having a bit more epic feel to it, the song oscillates between the thundering guitar paired with intense lyrics and vocals with the tiny, plinky harpsichord in between. As a bonus, the song is about a college girl who parties with townies until they get a little stabby with each other one night. Genuis.
The album’s beginning three extremely solid tracks stumbles a little with Navy Sheets, and again later with the surprisingly pedestrian Magazines, and to a bit lesser extent, Two Crosses (which is sort of like an exercise in busywork using acoustic guitars more than a solid track in of itself). Interspersed between these, however, they have put together some of the finest tracks on the record with Lord I’m Discouraged, and later, Joke About Jamaica, a song which draws a good chunk of its lyrics from Led Zeppelin song titles, a topic near and dear to my own heart. Joke About Jamaica combines pianos with vintage organs with clever lyrics and a breathless pace yet never overdoes it, which also serves to set up the absolutely fantastic closing track, Slapped Actress.
I have to imagine that Craig Finn’s approach is remarkably similar to J. Mascis’ in the studio, because neither seems to be able to forego indulging their own desires to throw down yet another guitar solo, whenever any such opportunity arises. Nowhere is this more clear than during Joke About Jamaica whereby Mr. Finn finishes one guitar solo and immediately follows it up with….another guitar solo, just with a different effect on the guitar. Funny, in a way, but sort of unnecessary, but what in rock ‘n roll has ever been necessary? And that essentially describes this record in a nutshell – rock ‘n roll excess oozing out of every song. Whether it’s the lifestyle, suffering the consequences from partying a little too hard, reliving glory days, or the copious amounts of purely awesome rock guitar, rock organ, rock piano, and more crash symbols than have maybe ever been recorded on one album, Stay Positive takes the true essense of rock ‘n roll right to your ears, and if nothing else, these guys seriously party.
Here are their upcoming US tourdates:
3-31 – Valentine’s – Albany, NY
4-1 – Tralf Music Hall – Buffalo, NY
4-2 – Calvin College Fine Arts Center – Grand Rapids, MI
4-3 – Illini Courtyard Cafe – Urbana, IL
4-4 – Jake’s Nightclud – Bloomington, IN
4-6 – Gargoyle – St. Louis, MO
4-7 – Picador – Iowa City, IA
4-8 – Slowdown – Omaha, NE
4-10 – Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO
4-11 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT
4-14 – Harrah’s Tahoe South Shore Room – Stateline, NV
4-15 – Harlow’s – Sacramento, CA
