The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America

“There are nights when I think that Sal Paradise was right/Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together.” Craig Finn’s sardonic, bittersweet sentiment opens The Hold Steady’s latest release and sets the album’s tone. In one respect, the band covers familiar territory on their third record, having grown quite adept at telling tales of misfits, addicts, and tragically pretty girls who spend their time “crushing one another with colossal expectations.” Boys and Girls in America is not, however, a lackadaisical exercise in rehashing successful formulas. Marrying riveting narratives with an ever-expanding sonic attack, The Hold Steady have issued their finest album to date and one of the year’s best. The Hold Steady has been recognized for deftly and energetically melding elements of alternative and heartland rock. The band's latest is a furthering of this ideal to a point of creative apex. Individually, the band’s members display instrumental prowess and excel throughout the record; collectively they create a backdrop as unique as Finn’s insistent sing-speak. Expressive keyboards interact with vigorous guitar and an uncompromising rhythm section to create a refreshing, punk rock meets E-Street Band feel. Opening track “Stuck Between Stations” immediately lends the album an epic tone, aptly making use of alternating dynamic levels. Building and swelling, the song gains momentum before the band pulls back, allowing Franz Nicolay’s piano solo to sweetly soften the track’s rougher edges. These initial moments prove representative of what makes The Hold Steady such shrewd musicians. Knowing when they have pushed both the volume and the envelope far enough, they show the restraint to allow moments of quiet clarity (such as on the beautiful “First Night”). Yet, the band never allows the album to grow too romantic or introspective, adding touches of lyrical irony and musical crescendo when necessary. After the excellence of 2005’s Separation Sunday, Boys and Girls in America is yet another step forward on an exciting artistic path. The Hold Steady’s capacity to mix both the sarcastic and the sensitive results in an album that is unique both in its approach and quality. [www.theholdsteady.com]