Subpoenaed in Texas, Sequestered in Memphis

The best bar band in the world are back. The Hold Steady's latest record "Stay Positive" has dropped and it does not disappont. Very few bands can match the Hold Steady for sheer rocking ability and the album's two opening tracks prove it. "Constructive Summer" recalls the youthful optimism of a new summer and the adventures that can be had, "We're going to build something, this summer." However, this optimism is tempered by the realization that these days are shortlived, "Getting older makes it harder to remember... we are our only saviors." Don't let the album's explicitly positive title fool you - The Hold Steady have not gone all saccharine on their fourth album. "Stay Positive" is as bittersweet as the band's breakthough "Boys and Girls in America." The usual themes of youth, religion, rebellion. and partying are all there - sharing the stage with some sweet guitar solos. The album is classic Hold Steady - wordy and cathartic. If you really want to experience the Hold Steady, though, you gotta see them live. Perhaps, in Ybor city with Charlemagne and Holly.