Minneapolis bred, Brooklyn based and ‘hotly tipped’ rock n’ rollers THE HOLD STEADY eventually signed to small independent label Vagrant towards the end of 2006, thus putting many other interested parties out of their misery following a fierce bidding war to secure the services of the somewhat eccentric sounding quintet.
Hotly tipped, in fact, doesn’t even come close to describing the rush Stateside as the resulting long-player ‘Boys and Girls in America’ (set for January release in the UK) went on to feature on end-of-year polls galore in the U.S. The first single, ‘Chips Ahoy!’ is a superb 7” of euphonious, head-the-ball proportions that goes a long way towards affirming the method behind the surrounding madness.
Something lovely is happening in a vaguely minor key, all grinding guitars with a smashing bassline engaged in a self-destructive duet with the Wurlitzer down below as the tale unfolds….all imperfections only go to make a more beautiful whole here, and smile you will at this powerhouse ditty, before you are taken over and carried along by the flow of its heavy, heavy current.
‘Chips Ahoy’ is a dead cert nag, appropriately enough the central theme in a dead cert jukebox sound. Something about an enigmatic girl who has an uncanny knack for picking winners at the racetrack, yet gives nothing away when it comes to what makes her world revolve.
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It’s a mystery well worth solving, and though there are never any easy answers, there is the reassuring arrival of a dropout/second wind, a pivotal feature of grunged-out rock n roll. Reassuring, but refreshing at the same time, this 100mph blast of weirdness has vocal hooks that will hook you with barely a pause for breath, and as a statement of intent there could be few bigger or better designed to announce the arrival of this astonishing outfit.
Gambling is one of the few vices that has escaped my attentions so far in life, but my money/shirt is on this one! Left me feeling giddy, so it did!
A must-hear sound!
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