 |
Who said that good ol’fashioned rock ‘n’ roll was dead? Ok, it may have been me, but I am more than happy to be proven wrong.
Flying below the radar locally in NZ, this album has been hailed by fans and critics alike for months now, and with good reason.
Boys and Girls In America is the third offering from Brooklyn based group The Hold Steady – and it is brimming with gritty lyricism, raw emotion and great rock melodies. To try and categorise the band is tough, but essentially they thrive on punchy, guitar driven rock, overlain with poetic vignettes that give a snapshot of modern America. Their stories are all delivered with a bar-room drawl by lead singer, Craig Finn – his voice an arresting blend of Shane MacGowan and, strangely enough, the smoother tones of Van Morrison. Whatever he draws on, it is his voice that brings the tales within each track to life.
While the 15 songs on this album (the US version has 11) are all delivered with the same inimitable swagger, you will be struck by how uplifting this music can be, despite it’s dark, angst filled stories. The stage is set from first song ‘Stuck Between Stations’, complete with driving guitars and piano, Finn gets straight to the point;
"There are nights when I think that Sal Paradise was right,
Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together,
Sucking off each other at the demonstrations,
Making sure their makeup's straight,
Crushing one another with colossal expectations."
‘Chips Ahoy!’ and ‘Hot Soft Light’ carry on in a similar musical vein. Straightforward rock and roll songs, complete with stories of gambling, drugs and incessant partying. But it isn’t all full speed ahead. The stripped back ‘First Night’ and ‘Citrus’ show that the heart of a crooning balladeer lies deep within the band.
At no point do you get tired of listening to these songs. While the music is great in itself – the lyrics provide another layer of complexity to the album that you will rarely experience elsewhere.
Oh and check out the guest vocalists on the catchy ‘Chillout Tent’ – one Dave Pirner features (remember Soul Asylum?). Don’t aging rock stars turn up in the darndest places?
The Hold Steady has come up with a great album and if you give it a chance, you won’t be disappointed.
Essential Tracks
Stuck Between Stations
Chips Ahoy!
First Night
Chillout Tent
Full Track Listing
1. Stuck Between Stations (4:10)
2. Chips Ahoy! (3:09)
3. Hot Soft Light (3:53)
4. Same Kooks (2:47)
5. First Night (4:54)
6. Party Pit (3:56)
7. You Can Make Him Like You (2:48)
8. Massive Nights (2:54)
9. Citrus (2:44)
10. Chillout Tent (3:42)
11. Southtown Girls (5:10)
12. For Boston (3:16)
13. Girls Like Status (3:08)
14. Arms And Hearts (3:51)
15. American Music (3:47)
|
|
