This album is an absolute classic. At first, you will hear his voice and think, "this is not that good." However, by the end of the album, you will get it. The Hold Steady has the clever lyrics about somehow familiar situations that will take you back to a wilder time of your life. Lines like, "we drink, we dry up, we crumble into dust.we get wet we corrode, we get covered in rust." keep you coming back for more. Or in the song, First Night, "she was golden with barlight and beer.
she slept like she'd never been scared." and later in the song, "when they kiss they spit white noise." as the chorus in the background complements Craig Finn's husky vocals chanting, "white noise." At some points, he is basically just talking but it makes it all the more unique.
The deep thick instrumentation will have you reaching over to the volume knob to crank it up to nuclear loud. I catch my self hammering the steering wheel to the beat. The piano's deep tones accompany the distorted guitar creating a masterpiece. Trust me Trust Me Trust Me. This band rocks. They have the feel of Southern to them although they are not. They grew up in Minneapolis and now claim Brooklyn. Plus they have this guy as a piano player...possibly the funniest looking dude ever. Watch this video and wait for the keyboardist.
