SOTD #37 // The Hold Steady: 'Hurricane J'

25 March 2010, 20:00 | Written by Rich Thane

(Tracks)

Good God, I fucking love The Hold Steady. One of the very few guitar bands around that make me feel A-L-I-V-E every time I listen to them. So many moments in their ever growing back catalogue are nothing more than life affirming. Whether it be Craig Finn’s incredible knack of storytelling through his lyrics (see: “Killer Parties”, “Chillout Tent”, “First Night”), the incendiary lead guitar of Tad Kubler that’s always creative but never verges on fret wankery (see: THAT middle-eight solo on “Stuck Between Stations”) or the arms aloft choruses that can increase a heart-rate at the drop of a line: “there’s always other boys, there’s always other boyfriends” from “You Can Make Him Love You”. Yes, I fucking love The Hold Steady.

But, like all great love affairs, sometimes things tend to go a bit sour every now and then… The bands first record for Rough Trade – 2008′s Stay Positive – was (for me anyway) a crushing disappointment. Muddy production, keyboards that verged on arse tightening embarrassment (I’m talking about the horrible harpsichord), tired lyrics and a sheer lack of balls. It felt like it had been thrown together with a “that’ll do” attitude whilst touring the albums classic predecessor Boys and Girls In America.

So when the announcement that the band were set to return in May with new album Heaven Is Whenever, a mixture of excitement and dread loomed. The same day, a reassuring tweet from Rough Trade Records assured me that those dodgy keyboard sounds were well and truly out in favour of more LOUD GUITARS. And boy, were they right. The first taster from the new record is classic Hold Steady.

A pounding, relentless rhythm section, chugging power chords that are layered over classic, instantly rememberable Finn-ism’s “you’re a beautiful girl, and a pretty good waitress”. Listening to it, I get the exact same excitement as I did listening to “You Can Make Him Love You” from Boys and Girls In America. Surely a great sign of things to come.. Stream a high-quality version below.