The Hold Steady 'Stay Positive'
Brooklyn Indie Rockers Set to Release New LP for Summer 2008
Critically-acclaimed Indie Rockers The Hold Steady are set to release their new record "Stay Positive" this July, a follow-up to their previously well-received albums.
Brooklyn rockers The Hold Steady are gearing up for the July release of their new album Stay Positive. The critically-acclaimed band blends classic, punk, and literary influences to create a unique and engaging sound.
Classic Beginnings
The group could be described as indie-rock's preeminent bar band; their live shows usually feature lots of beer, fist-pumping anthems, and audience shout-alongs. The group was formed in 2004 after its members watched The Last Waltz, Martin Scorsese's concert documentary of The Band's final performance. "Why aren't bands like this around anymore?," asked lead singer Craig Finn. To answer the question, they decided to make their own.
Underground Influences
Finn is the group's main songwriter, with keyboardist Franz Nicolay playing organ, accordion, and harmonica. Tad Kubler plays the lead guitar, with Galen Polivka and Bobby Drake rounding the group up on bass and drums. The band's origins lie in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis, where bands like The Replacements and Hüsker Dü created cult followings in the early 80's before signing to major labels.
The Hold Steady draws on that underground spirit and combines it with classic-rock form, including solos, soaring choruses, and instrumental breaks. Songwriting influences on the group range from Pete Townshend to Paul Westerberg and Bob Dylan (the group contributed a song to the soundtrack of Todd Hayne's 2007 Dylan film I'm Not There).
Teenage Rebellion in Song Form
Stay Positive is the follow-up to 2006's critically-acclaimed Boys and Girls in America, which combined the raw energy of punk with Finn's narrative lyrics about the trials and tribulations of being an American youth. Hidden underneath the freewheeling spirit of the music are Springsteen-like ruminations on life.
"Sometimes I think that Sal Paradise was right / Boys and Girls in America have such a sad time together," starts "Stuck Between Stations", the first song of the record. The line is a reference to the vagrant character in Jack Kerouac's classic Beat novel On The Road, which viewed the exhilaration of youth with the same sort of melancholy.
Finn creates characters within his songs that are struggling to find themselves and their place in the world amidst a culture filled with parties, drugs, and long nights. 2005's Separation Sunday was a loose concept album about struggling with Catholic Guilt, and their 2004 debut album Almost Killed Me shared similar themes.
Stay Positive This Summer
Stay Positive looks to continue the band's discography in a similar vein and set them apart as one of the most interesting new rock groups in today's independent scene. The band will be touring throughout the summer in the States and the UK, including a stop at the Pitchfork Music Festival at Chicago's Union Park in July. Stay Positive is out July 15th on Vagrant Records.
The Hold Steady Official Website
