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.

Hold Steady Streams new LP

Minnesota heroes The Hold Steady are streaming their entire new album "Stay Positive" on their MySpace page right now as you read this. Who knows how long it will be up so you better hurry up and listen. I've listened to it all the way through only once so I'll have to wait awhile before I write a proper review but I gotta say that I like what I hear. It doesn't have the same unity as "Boys and Girls in America" or "Almost Killed Me" but the epic scope is certainly still there. Craig Finn and the best bar band in the world really seem to be experimenting with their sound a little as well. Is that a lute I hear? Like the band's famous "Southtown Girls," "Stay Positive" might not blow you away but you know that it'll stay...

The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations: