The Hold Steady

It’s been almost a decade since I found a new band that I like as much as The Hold Steady. And the reason I like them so much is that they sound like they could have existed about a decade ago – back in a time when bands still thought in terms of albums not simply single song downloads.

Hailing from Minneapolis the members of The Hold Steady did time in any number of bands both in Minn. and in New York. They are no teenagers and in fact you get the sense that the Hold Steady might well have been their last band rather than their first.

They are not exactly a new band having been formed in 2003 by vocalist, lyricist, and guitarist Craig Finn and New York City bartender and bassist Galen Polivka. Finn and lead guitarist Tad Kubler (both formerly of Lifter Puller) developed the idea of The Hold Steady when, while watching the The Band concert film The Last Waltz, Finn reputedly asked Kubler, “Dude, why aren’t there any bands like this anymore?” That was a good start.

Over the course of four albums The Hold Steady have managed to remind me of (in no particular order) : Soul Asylum, Bruce Springsteen, Husker Du, Dramarama, The Tragically Hip, Tom Petty, Jim Carroll, The Replacements, Godfathers, Cheap Trick and Dogs D’Amour.

Yep it could be argued that they play their record collection, but a/ it’s a bloody good record collection and b/ they exceed that record collection on a regular basis.

The mainstay of the band is Finn – a dorky looking mid thirties guy who manages to look at sound like he finds his role as the frontman for a rock band as slightly ridiculous but at the same time cant help but be hopelessly in love with rock n’roll.

The Hold Steady have songs that most literately describe being in a band and the whole indie band scene (Chill Out Tent, Boys and Girls In America and Sequestered In Memphis). Finn populates his songs with recurring characters and like Springsteen we are able to follow their evolution from mid twenties idealism/isolation to dealing with more adult situations.

Their evolution begun with Almost Killed Me and Separation Sunday but they really started to hit their stride with Boys And Girls In America. Released in October, 2006, Boys and Girls in America was ranked #8 on the Rolling Stone Best Albums of 2006 list. Pitchfork Media’s Scott Plagenhoff wrote of the album, “[Craig Finn] not only has a commanding, rousing voice but he also says something worth hearing, displaying gifts for both scope and depth that are all too rare in contemporary rock — indie or mainstream.”

The band’s fourth album, Stay Positive, was released in the UK on July 14, 2008 and in the U.S. on July 15, 2008 and more recently in Australia.

It’s a remarkable record – managing to expand their musical palate to give them a set of textures that recall the E Street Band or Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, but without losing the indie-rock aesthetic.

In an interview Finn explained the dichotomy of being a new classic rock band. “I would say the Hold Steady is classic rock with a lowercase “c,” in that the riffs are familiar. Everywhere but in New York, part of your teenage years were spent in cars. I graduated high school in 1989, and there was no alternative rock radio, and there wasn’t really good college radio you could get on a car stereo. Once you get a car at that age, you’re spending all the time you can away from home, sometimes just driving around aimlessly. Listening, or not even listening, but subconsciously soaking up this classic rock barrage. I can still sing most Eagles songs, even though I never bought a record and never liked the band. So there’s a familiarity to the Hold Steady. “That’s kind of a Zeppelinesque riff there.” It makes you feel okay or something”

The Hold Steady will be touring Australia in February as a part of the St Jeromes Laneway Festival. They have now announced two headlining sideshows of their own:

Melbourne

Monday 2 February
The Corner Hotel

Sydney

Wednesday 4 February
The Metro Theatre