The Hold Steady – Stay Positive

Here we have a new album of anthemic rock from American riff-meisters, The Hold Steady, which is more than pleasant and a change in direction from the previous efforts. I’ll get the comparisons out of the way immediately, it’s like Bob Mould fronting the E Street Band, songwriting akin to Springsteen, and the strangest ones I’ve picked up are the commercial sing-along pop and dual vocals of Rancid, and a certain feeling of 90s alternative rock a bit like Soul Asylum’s Grave Dancers Union. It’s no real surprise that you’ll find comparisons with Husker Du and Soul Asylum when you look at The Hold Steady’s Minneapolis connections, you could even compare the Purple Rain-esque guitar solo in Joke About Jamaica to Minneapolis’ most famous son, Prince.

The album only has two weak songs for me, those being One For The Cutters and Navy Sheets, everything else is great. Overblown pantomime piano and gruff enunciation are at the forefront as always, with social commentary on opening track, Constructive Summer and religious imagery with Both Crosses, whilst the album’s title track is raw out-and-out power-punk. As well as the usual influences scattered around, one of my favourite bits is the Elvis Costello style organ that crops up here and there.

This is an album full of potential summer hymns and anthems to harmonise along to in festivals all over the country. There are enough hooks and big choruses to get you jumping around and if you can’t remember the lyrics, there’s plenty of “woah-oh-ohs” for you to chant as well.

4/5


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