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Stay Positive Released: 13/07/08 by The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady's ascent and eventual breakthrough with 2006's 'Boys and Girls in America' was never pre-ordained. If anything they did it without the tastemakers' consent. Their shtick is old-fashioned through and through, beginning with Thin Lizzy and ending with Bruce Springsteen, performed by men advanced enough to have experienced those touchstones first or second hand. and look at them - not exactly the Strokes, are they? but it was precisely their enthusiastic unoriginality, the fact that the cliches were piled on so thick and so fast, that they triumphed. And cosidering that placed next to that unapologetically feel good record, that 'Stay Positive' sounds so immediately brighter and more muscular is undoubtedly a great sign. Production is really cranked up - see the horns wedged into 'Sequestered in Memphis', the REM mandolin texturing of 'Both Crosses' and the surprising harpsichord flagrancy of 'One For the Cutters'. Yhey're clearly determined to not be so easily pegged this time around, though admittedly they never exactly go that far off-piste. "Our songs are sing-along songs," announced Craig finn semi-helpfully, and though the spirit is right, with such a conversational lyrical style that is rarely the case. It's more about the rock gestures and knowing when to punch the air. and there are instances aplenty, from the Pete Townsend-esque windmill power-chords in 'Constructive Summer', to the overblown solo in 'Lord i'm Discouraged' that is so 'November Rain'. Limited CD with special packaging and 3 secret bonus tracks.Get yours from:
Rough Trade
iTunes
Amazon
“The fiercest, funniest, druggiest, most visionary American rock band of the 21st century” THE GUARDIAN
“One of the best rock'n'roll bands in the world” NME 9/10
“Staggeringly good” UNCUT ✭✭✭✭✭
“Harder, better, deeper, stronger: this is benchmark US rock” THE INDEPENDENT INFORMATION ✭✭✭✭✭
“They don’t just make you fall in love with them, they make you wonder why other bands aren’t this good….This is the sound of a great band reaching a new peak” THE SUNDAY TIMES ALBUM OF THE WEEK
“The fiercest, funniest, druggiest, most visionary American rock band of the 21st century” THE GUARDIAN
“One of the best rock'n'roll bands in the world” NME 9/10
“Staggeringly good” UNCUT ✭✭✭✭✭
“Harder, better, deeper, stronger: this is benchmark US rock” THE INDEPENDENT INFORMATION ✭✭✭✭✭
ALBUM OF THE MONTH - UNCUT ✭✭✭✭✭
ALBUM OF THE MONTH – Q ✭✭✭✭
ALBUM OF THE MONTH – MOJO ✭✭✭✭
ALBUM OF THE WEEK – NME 9/10
ALBUM OF THE WEEK - THE SUNDAY TIMES ✭✭✭✭
ALBUM OF THE WEEK – THE OBSERVER
ALBUM OF THE WEEK - THE INDEPENDENT ✭✭✭✭✭
ALBUM OF THE WEEK - THE INDEPENDENT INFORMATION ✭✭✭✭✭
ALBUM OF THE YEAR - MTV.COM
Formats: CD RTRADCDX 460 Download RTRADDA 460ITM Download RTRADDA 460 12" LP RTRADLP 460 CD RTRADCD 460
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