The Hold Steady sound like the fathers of Arcade Fire. They have the big sound and the enormous choruses, but there’s just something a little embarrassing about them. Their recent album ‘Stay Positive’ portrays them as a more grizzly, less interesting version of The Decemberists, just slightly too derivative of MOR bands to be really enjoyed.
The title track from the album is a good choice of single, and it certainly provides their most radio friendly moment to date. The ‘woah-ho-ho’ chorus is catchy and the message is simple. If there were a sensible Government out there, they’d be marketing this song as the answer to all of our financial woes. Next year someone will be dancing in mud on festival footage to this very song – it’s kind of anthemic and surprisingly easy to get stuck in your head.
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It’s rock music, Springsteen style, and for that it sounds very dated. I can see how The Hold Steady are a band to be enjoyed, and I can imagine that their live shows provide really good nights out, but underneath the surface of a mildly catchy tune there is little here to love. You can’t knock a band for writing a feel-good song, but you don’t have to be grateful either.
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