Though there’s not a bad song on the album, some tracks really do go to levels that rock bands of any breed rarely touch. The devastating “Lord I’m Discouraged” tells the tail of an unattainable women caught in life-destroying circumstances, with the perfect chorus “Excuses and half truths and fortified wine.” “Joke About Jamaica,” the band’s obvious homage to Zeppelin, features some of the finest chops the band has ever displayed that keeps up with the band's heroes.
There hasn’t been a Hold Steady album yet without a mammoth, inspiring ending. On Boys and Girls, the band relied on personal comfort and safety in the face of adversity to carry them out. But here the band truly takes it to another level, with a theatrical, rock operatic final two tracks, "Jamaica" and "Slapped Actress," that take on how the band sees the struggles of making it in a jaded industry. It’s one of the first times the Hold Steady has critically addressed the current state of indie rock, and while this has always been a band quicker to build bridges than burn them, it’s of no small importance that Finn has turned his pen squarely at his peers.
While the Hold Steady has traditionally tended to rely on that pen, this is the first Hold Steady album where Finn is more part of an ensemble than the lead. Stay Positive would be nothing without the foundation provided by Bobby Drake's drums or the tough, disciplined lead guitar of Tad Kubler. The Hold Steady has always been something of anomaly in the indie rock world, but here they become one of a kind. All while still sounding like they’ve been with us forever.
Article comments
1 - Eric Whelchel
very nice review. and indeed Stay Positive is very good.
I wonder though if fans and critics will start to complain if the next few albums show the influences so much.