The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

Stay Positive (2008, Vagrant) The Hold Steady's fourth studio album. ***1/2

The glorified bar band is back with their fourth entry, the energetic Stay Positive, an ode to the summers wasted away on beer and narcotics. It's supercharged and ready to explode, as the obnoxiously loud "Constructive Summer" opens the package. This is a new direction for the Hold Steady, whose message is overwhelmingly, well, positive. In addition, it's brimming with sloppy punk rock riffs, and Craig Finn isn't afraid to spit out the lyrics with his distinctive pipes.

To be honest, the hooks aren't necessarily up to par with what the Hold Steady has put out before, most notably on their last album Boys and Girls in America, which started with the wonderfully powerful "Stuck Between Stations." And even though there's nothing that's as instantly pleasing, there are still a handful of moments that take you back to the good times spent with friends getting drunk. "Sequestered in Memphis" is a great anthem for the thirty-somethings that the Hold Steady are. "Navy Sheets" features an interesting 90's rock break, and the hard-rocking title track is the band at its most primal.

All the while I don't understand why Stay Positive is receiving an incredible amount of critical support; certainly it's a good album, but I do believe that they have done better in the past. Either way, it's easy enough to listen to, as the Hold Steady (God, what a terrible name) have proved themselves to be a band that anyone can enjoy.

Review on YouTube: The Hold Steady - Stay Positive