via//chicago

np: "Sequestered in Memphis" - The Hold Steady

It's pretty fair to say, at this point in 2008, that The Hold Steady is one of my favorite active bands right now. Since discovering them via blog buzz (it does work!) shortly before the release of their excellent second album, Separation Sunday, and subsequently reviewing it for Static; I've fallen hard for this band. Not only have I come to cherish each of their full-lengths, admittedly some more than others, but I've been fortunate enough to watch them put on four killer shows in the past few years. So, to put it mildly, I was anxious to hear their latest - Stay Positive. I wanted the full record buying experience, so I avoided all the early internet leaks and streaming tracks on MySpace. Call me old fashioned, but I love anxiously ripping open the plastic wrap and studying the liner notes as the first tracks wash over me. Anyway, after what seemed like an interminable wait, this thing was finally released for reals yesterday. And now that I've had a chance to let my first impressions sink in - damn is this one hell of an album.

Stay Positive is almost exactly the direction I'd hoped they would take after Boys and Girls in America. More classic rock elements, more epic arrangements, and a grander sense of time and place. Craig Finn has always done an excellent job of making his references feel universal, even when getting down to the nitty-gritty specifics that only a select few might catch on first listen. Hell, spending a lot of time with those first two albums made me feel like I spent my wayward teenage years in the Twin Cities - even though my adolescence was spent in relative boredom in central Illinois! But I think he's done an even finer job than ever before in nailing what I'll call those specific generalities. These songs may come across like explicitly narrative tales about friends and acquaintances, but they perfectly capture slices of life for a great many people. I know the reference is all to tired when it comes to this band, but I feel that Stay Positive is their most Springsteen influenced yet. It's not hard to imagine kids cruising around the Midwestern streets this summer with the same feeling in their hearts as those New Jersey kids might have felt back in the fall of 1975 when Born To Run came out. This is about as American as rock and roll gets right now.

Do yourself a favor, rush out and buy this damn thing. It's phenomenal. Separation Sunday was my #2 album of 2005, Boys and Girls was my #3 of 2006, this may just be the year that The Hold Steady tops the list.

(As a sidenote, I do have one minor complaint that has nothing to do with the quality of the album. I want to know why Vagrant thought it was a good idea to cram all three bonus songs onto a single track? It's really annoying.)

Check out a couple of my favorites for yourself (but really, the whole thing need to be heard):

"Sequestered in Memphis"
"Lord, I'm Discouraged"