Average User Rating: 80% (8 Reviews)
4 / 5	The Hold Steady are back on fine form. M. K. Sutton "www.come2whereimfrom.co.uk" (Nottingham, England) - 20 June 2008 After the success of `Boys & girls in America' Hold Steady's new album is hotly anticipated by fans and I have to say they don't disappoint. They are hardly the stuff of chart material, old and wise enough to have been around the block a few times but that is maybe what makes them so special, they have made it based on great music and a reputation for raucous but brilliant live shows. Here the sound isn't that far away from what you'd expect, they are just doing their thing, happens that they are just very good at it. The album opens with the born in the USA style riff laden `Constructive Summer' all attitude and business as usual and at just under three minutes it's another perfect slice of guitar pop. Next up is `Sequestered in Memphis' catchy as cold in an office environment and it gets instantly under your skin with its trumpets and Hammond belting out a basis for the lyrics to sit `subpoenaed in Texas, sequestered in Memphis'. `One for the Cutters' is a speeded up `Golden Brown' and the first song here to let the guitars sit back and relax while a honky tonk piano does most of the work. `Navy Sheets' seems to have embraced the new wave culture with its rave keyboards sharing duties with the familiar guitar. `Lord I'm Discouraged' takes the pace down to a Spiritualized level and wouldn't sound out of place on a Willard Grant Conspiracy record, it's a dusty Eagles-esqe story topped of with a guitar solo worthy of Slash. `Yeah Sapphire' is another typical tune with duelling guitars and crazy lyrics. `Both Crosses' sees the pace down again and R.E.M. comparisons seem inevitable as a mandolin and acoustic guitar gives it a cowboy feel reminiscent of `E-bow the Letter'. `Stay Positive' is the closest thing I've heard to a Jonathan Richmond song since the Modern Lovers and it comes complete with a whoo ho ho sing along chorus. `Magazines' is more Springsteen than the album opener while retaining all the classic elements of the band and is a natural successor to last albums `Chips Ahoy!'. `Joke about Jamaica' has nice little time changes and another cracking guitar solo, its starts with a `Life on Mars' style piano which builds into a heady mix before stopping dead and ushering in final track `Slapped Actress' a five minute song that halfway through breaks down `sometimes actress's get slapped, sometimes fake fights go bad' they sing before building up again into an Americana `Mr. Blue Sky' and after 43 glorious minutes its over. A charming, uplifting and positive record which should do nothing to harm The Hold Steady's reputation, a little experimentation, a lot of passion and twelve great songs make this one of the albums of the year. ... Read Full Review »
2 / 5	Positive Negative Montgomery Snapper - 16 July 2008 I love this band and yet this album just hasn't got the big tunes that made Boys & Girls in America such an aural delight. You won't find a Chips Ahoy, Party Pit or Chill Out on here. Sure, there are few better lyricists in rock at the moment than Craig Finn, but the spark seems to have gone missing from the band's tunesmiths resulting in bluster and rock cliché of the kind that discerning listeners got bored with many years ago. Quite simply this band need time off the road to find the spark that so lit up Boy & Girls in America. ... Read Full Review »
5 / 5	Don't mention Tampa... AJ Hunt (Cardiff) - 18 July 2008 After the brilliance of Boys and Girls and Separation Sunday and seeing them on tour, I've been more excited about Stay Positive's release than a five year old kid on Christmas Eve. Thankfully, this album doesn't disappoint one bit. I just kinda wonder if it's even healthy the amount I love these guys' music. True, the mix is pretty raw, and they're obviously leaning towards a more punked-out sound than the smoothly produced Boys and Girls. But they've not forgotten the melodies, and most importantly the fun. Lots of reviews will talk about brilliant lyrics packed with intellectual reference points, but more important for me is the fact that The Hold Steady put the fun back into Rock. The genuine euphoria of their live sets shines through on this album, with the band as ever rejecting the trendy brooding battle-of-who-could-care-less that blights so much modern music - The Hold Steady are the next best thing to seeing The Boss himself live. And while the Springsteen comparisons linger, there's plenty more in the melting pot of their influences on this record. Anyone suggesting they're a one-shot wonder is pretty wide of the mark here, with songs as varied as Lord I'm Discouraged and Stay Positive on one album. I'm torn though. Part of me has an evangelical zest to me about The Hold Steady. I just can't see why some of the dirge that gets into the mainstream could be favoured over this by anyone with a brain and two ears. But then, as another reviewer says, this record does take effort to get the utmost reward. Perhaps that's its attraction for me - music nerd, snob or whatever. ... Read Full Review »
5 / 5	Best album of 2008 so far! Mr. Scott Browne - 20 September 2008 I just wanted to say that I am flabergasted by the 2 reviews whcih rate this as 2 stars. I would say that if anything, the first 2 albums are a band finding their feet, Boys and Girls in America sees them finally perfect the early sound and this is something else entirely. Craig Finn's voice is definitely at it's best on this album as is Tad Kubler's outstanding guitar (check the J Mascis' esque solo on 'Lord I'm Discouraged.) />Elsewhere, banjo and harpsichord add an element never heard before and if you're looking for a Chips Ahoy! look no further than the title track itself. I literally have not stopped playing this and have recommended it to most of my mates, who also have been won over (even my old man who is very sceptical of hype!) In short, ignore the second and third review and indulge in a true classic.... Read Full Review »
5 / 5	One of the best rock albums for 20 years Mr. S. Holloway "steveholloway4" (kent) - 1 August 2008 Great stories, great musicians and great songs! Up there with NEVERMIND,BORN TO RUN, JOSHUA TREE, SOFT BULLETIN and DESERTERS SONGS sublime! BUY NOW