Album Reviews

Carried by a pounded-out "Born To Run" piano line, a driving dose of electric guitar, and Craig Finn's sing-song growl about working at the mill and climbing water towers, "Constructive Summer"—the lead-off track on Stay Positive—will do little to dissuade the already rampant comparisons to the Boss that The Hold Steady have been garnering for the last five years or so. Big, urgent choruses and toasts to "Saint Joe Strummer," drinking 'til blackout, and hooking up abound, as the band remains mired in the daily travails of the youth culture; yet again, Craig Finn gets older, but his songs stay the same age. However, lyrically, there is often a darker edge around both the ballads and up-tempo numbers, as Finn narrates tales of murder, self mutilation, and inner torment yet reminds us to "Stay Positive."

And the musical backdrop does branch out a bit: "One for the Cutters" rides a harpsichord, "Navy Sheets" a moog. They even manage to recall Led Zeppelin on "Both Crosses" and craft a song around them (and music snobbery) on "Joke about Jamaica." Still, the most tracks are unmistakably marked "THS"–throwback rock vividly drawn and wonderfully executed. "Yeah Sapphire" may be the highlight in many a fan's eye, with Finn and Co. turning on a repeated line and slamming the song home. And for a band that has never shrugged off the importance of closing strong, "Slapped Actress" manages to trump all previous efforts. In fact, there are no real curveballs in here anywhere, just over a half dozen or so perfect strikes and no complete misses.

—William Morris
07.24.08