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The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
| Uncut | If it was their intention with this record to, among other things, leave the listener speechless, they’ve done a good job.
I’ve been listening to it virtually non-stop for the last few weeks, and I’m still trying to find the right words to describe Stay Positive, the astonishing fourth album by The Hold Steady – the vaulting ambition of which combines aspects of the dramatic euphoria and anxious nostalgia of Who’s Next and Quadrophenia and the maggoty grandeur of Lou Reed’s Berlin, alongside the scalding musical dynamics of The Attractions and familiar loud echoes of the E Street Band, especially in the hurtling, incident-packed velocity of most tracks, which, overall, are bigger, more soaringly anthemic than ever, Tad Kubler’s monster guitar parts everywhere to the fore, the sound of something waiting, somewhat impatiently, to fill stadiums....full text |
| | Slantmagazine | | In Opening Night, Gena Rowlands plays a Broadway actress who witnesses the accidental death of an adoring young fan as she tries to snag an autograph from the star. This experience both traumatizes and enlightens Rowlands's character to the point where she questions the very nature of what she does for a living. Her lack of actual responsibility for the death is slightly outweighed by her guilt for indirectly creating the situation that led to it; her fame brought the fan there, after all, and caused her to look "upwards with wonder" from the start. When Craig Finn of the Hold Steady sings, "Some nights it's just entertainment/And some other nights it's work," on the song "Slapped Actress," which references the John Cassavetes film, he's talking about the moments in which the fantastic escapism of the entertainment world meets harsh reality....full text |
| | Adequacy | With a commanding guitar riff that sounds like it was stolen straight off of Peter Buck’s guitar, “Constructive Summer” finds Craig Finn and Co. jamming out and having a good ol’ time. With Stay Positive the band have presented another knockout and stay true to their unyielding belief of churning out great, albeit distinctive albums, time after time.
Finn decided to take vocal lessons for the first time and the fruits of his labor are evidenced throughout the entire album. On the synth-heavy “Navy Sheets” his voice is actually able to sing in linear motion and toward the end of the song his voice leaps from word to word in an impressive manner. This decision especially pays off dividends on the album’s softer songs like “Lord, I’m Discouraged.” With the band providing glimmering guitars and sparkling keys behind him, Finn’s matured voice sounds sincere and accomplished....full text |
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The Hold Steady lyrics |
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