The Hold Steady invite a lot of argument. Some people love them (witness a 9.4 – their highest rating of 2006 – from Pitchfork), some people hate them, and a lot of folks just don’t get what all the fighting is about.
Their new record Boys and Girls in America isn’t much of a departure from their previous work. So for the fans, it will be more proof that they rule. And for the critics, it will be referenced consistently as “the most overhyped album of 2006.”
I have a tough time here because I like them a lot, but for reasons that don’t really mesh with most of the rest of the critical lauding they’ve received. First of all, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I don’t do drugs, and I really have little patience for those who do. Danger never seemed that fun to me.
It’s not that I can’t recognize the pathos of stories like these, it’s just that I consistently find myself disappointed in the degree to which they accept the myth: the glory of masculinity, the joy of playing with fire. Even if the point is to reveal that these people are messed up, they are also glorified.
And yet, I enjoy The Hold Steady, despite their songs being almost exclusively inhabited by addicts, self-destructive behavior, and the kinds of people I would be perfectly happy to never interact with. Girls gone bad who are into guys that are even worse. Bleh. I know, I know…the allure of the bad boy is so enticing. Spare me.
So what gives? Well, for one thing they play some great rock and roll. And as much as I might get annoyed at the subject matter, it’s hard to turn down some great riffs. But beyond that, the ghost of Springsteen says a lot.
You can’t read a review of this album without a Springsteen reference and in many ways it’s very appropriate. They write songs about location and the little relationships between people that stand in for Big Picture questions about life in this America. And, on this record, they borrow even more heavily from the Born to Run vibe of plinking pianos running in the midst of big power chords.
And, most tellingly, unlike some other songs about sex, drugs, and rock and roll, there is a deeper story here, about what we grasp for when our old beliefs are insufficient. Holly has motivations like a real person – she is searching for something that cannot be found.
But I’m not sure how far it goes. Craig Finn’s vocals are nothing like the Boss, and this is a band much more into the big 70s rockers – I don’t think this band could produce anything like “Sandy” or “Thunder Road,” much less anything on Nebraska. I guess the difference is that Springsteen can write a song about anyone while The Hold Steady seem much more stuck in a certain kind of story. They couldn’t write “Sandy” because it’s too ethereal. And they couldn’t write “Thunder Road” or “Born to Run” because those songs, for all their dwelling on the pain and suffering of life, are fundamentally optimistic – they believe in redemption, not just as a moment of salvation but as something fundamental. Holly, Charlemagne, Gideon, and the rest don’t inhabit that same world. Even in their very best moments (such as Separation Sunday’s “How a Resurrection Really Feels”), there is a limit to where these characters will go. There is no transcendence.
And that’s okay. It may be even more realistic than the youthful optimism of Born to Run. But I worry that it’s a dead end. Springsteen didn’t stand still. Less than a decade after that record, he gave us all a bloody nose with Nebraska. I’m not sure The Hold Steady have such a change in them. Because Nebraska and Born to Run are different variations on the same talent of getting so completely into a character that, at least for the length of a song, you become them. All their dreams, all their failings, they become the only reality. Murderers or kids filled with reckless abandon or anything in between – they all feel like real people.
No matter how much I enjoy songs from The Hold Steady, the characters feel like just that: characters. Cutouts of real people, embodiments of a concept of rock and roll. And thus: cliches.
All of this is not to say that the album is bad. Far from it. Finn is a fantastic storyteller. And though I find the confines he has built for himself a bit limiting, within those limits he writes some masterful and evocative lyrics. And they play some great rock and roll, like it’s meant to be played.
A lot of stuff I haven’t really talked about: the 60s-esque harmonies and instrumentation (see the end of “Massive Nights”) often feels out of place. Finn’s efforts to sing tenderly (see the otherwise sterling “First Night”) get schmaltzy. For the most part, the piano is deftly deployed, though with occasional mis-steps. While Dave Pirner tosses in a okay guest spot on “Chillout Tent,” I could really do without whoever is singing the female part. And if I never heard “Same Kooks” again, I would be perfectly happy.
But there are a few great songs: the aforementioned “First Night,” which is close to a power ballad but in the best possible way, the powerful opener “Stuck Between Stations” with its perfectly executed piano interlude that leads back into the explosive guitars, the power pop “Party Pit,” and the album closer “Arms and Hearts.”
So, short version: this is a good album. If you like stories about drinking, drugs, and sex, with a little bit of redemption thrown in, this one is for you. If you like rock and roll, this one is for you. If you haven’t heard anything from them, this is a good place to start, and see if they appeal to you. But if you didn’t like the other Hold Steady albums, you aren’t really missing anything here.
MP3s:
First Night
Stuck Between Stations
Party Pit
And if you want to read an interesting discussion on the album, check out this thread in the elbo.ws forum.