Rockin' Our Turntable: The Hold Steady

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on May 10, 2010 5:20PM

The new Hold Steady, Heaven Is Whenever, finds the band stumbling a bit. Considering their track record this isn’t wholly surprising. The band’s first four albums have all been top-notch with more than a few moments bordering on honest genius, so the fact that album number five falls a bit flat does little more than prove the band’s mortal. On Heaven Is Whenever the group perhaps reaches a little too far in their effort to snag the dual title of scruffiest and the most honest of the Springsteenian indie acts with their eyes on pumping up arena sized hearts.

The big riffs are still there, but they’re not punching as hard as they have in the past. And in their attempt to bulk up their sound the band makes a few ill-advised studio decisions, the nadir of which would have to be the cheesmo celestial choir of “We Can Get Together.” Lead singer / lyricist Craig Finn is still adept at churning out that combination of University level yet street-smart poetry throughout the songs, but on a few of the songs here even he sounds like he’s reaching.

The Hold Steady remains one of our favorite live bands currently touring, and maybe the road will help fill out the songs on this album, but as a recorded collection we just don’t find this to be up to the band’s usual high standards.