The Hold Steady

The Hold Steady's first two records of bare-knuckled bangers were lauded as dissertations on underdog bar rock, coupling Craig Finn's scrappy narratives about getting high and chasing tail with riffs on the scale of vintage Thin Lizzy. On their third, Finn reins in the rambling for more concise tales of spiritual survival in strip mall culture. When things get sentimental, as on the piano-driven "First Night," the songwriting is still commanding, but these guys are best with unrestrained rockers like "Stuck Between Stations" or "Hot Soft Light" -- with hearts on their sleeves and amps on 11.

Over two albums, the Hold Steady have staked their claim as America's best bar band,
pulling ragged glory from boozy riffage and the oddly gripping splutters of
frontman-storyteller Craig Finn. Boys and Girls in America is a bit looser and brighter than
last year's Separation Sunday, and it eschews that album's concept-record staging in favor
of tales of l-o-v-e in the U.S.A. featuring rock kids, troubled girls and substance a... More >

Keyed to the Jack Kerouac line "Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together," Craig Finn and company's third release in three years doesn't approach the faith-based weight of 2005's Separation Sunday, and somebody should stomp down hard on Franz Nicolay's cornball Boss keyboards. Nevertheless, the album makes its point with an abundance of narrative flair. The saddest entry is "You Can Make Him Like You," for a pretty girl who always finds another guy when she gets tired of her boyfriend's buddies or music or drugs. The happiest is "Chillout Tent," where the sadness is comic and the mook has his moment with the Bowdoin girl. (Grade - A MINUS)