Craig Finn ain't much of a singer, but the man sure spins a mean yarn. And for those of you naysayers who claim his songs rely far too heavily on brawny rock rhythms and Daedalean wordplay: Heaven Is Whenever, his band's fifth LP, will surely put your naysayin' to rest. Over the past few years, The Hold Steady has become synonymous with chugging guitars and earnest tales of "boys and girls in America". But after 2008's comparatively dull Stay Positive, fans couldn't help but wonder what the future held for the Brooklyn band. Were they destined to become another Springsteen-sound-alike: frontman Finn singing of mill towns and motorbikes with the same puffed-chest clout as his Jersey hero? Nah, dude. Finn is, for all intents and purposes, a nerd! He's a chubby thirtysomething with a nasty bout of male pattern baldness. Wendy isn't going to wrap her legs around him! Hell, she'd more likely laugh in his face then throw her diet coke on his freshly pressed button-down. And he got the memo. "You can't get every girl. You'll love the ones you get the best," he comforts a younger version of himself on the excellent "Soft In The Center", adding in, "I know what you're going through. I had to go through that too." The Hold Steady has returned to their Almost Killed Me roots. Screw concept albums – the only concept tying this album together is the concept of human experience. Their mustachioed keyboardist Franz Nicolay is notably absent. And while his fills and riffs were certainly an integral part of the group's sound, there is no mistaking the fact that this is their freshest sounding release since 2006’s Boys And Girls In America. That slide guitar on "Sweet Part of the City"? Dope. Finn's finest moment, however, comes in the form of a simple love song. "We Can Get Together" is about sitting on your beloved's bedroom floor, listening to a timeless record that stirs up the most wonderful kind of nostalgia. Heaven Is Whenever could easily become said timeless record. Saturated with warmth, humor, honesty - it is truly an album for the ages.
Showing posts with label Craig Finn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Craig Finn. Show all posts
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Heaven Is Hold Steady.
Craig Finn ain't much of a singer, but the man sure spins a mean yarn. And for those of you naysayers who claim his songs rely far too heavily on brawny rock rhythms and Daedalean wordplay: Heaven Is Whenever, his band's fifth LP, will surely put your naysayin' to rest. Over the past few years, The Hold Steady has become synonymous with chugging guitars and earnest tales of "boys and girls in America". But after 2008's comparatively dull Stay Positive, fans couldn't help but wonder what the future held for the Brooklyn band. Were they destined to become another Springsteen-sound-alike: frontman Finn singing of mill towns and motorbikes with the same puffed-chest clout as his Jersey hero? Nah, dude. Finn is, for all intents and purposes, a nerd! He's a chubby thirtysomething with a nasty bout of male pattern baldness. Wendy isn't going to wrap her legs around him! Hell, she'd more likely laugh in his face then throw her diet coke on his freshly pressed button-down. And he got the memo. "You can't get every girl. You'll love the ones you get the best," he comforts a younger version of himself on the excellent "Soft In The Center", adding in, "I know what you're going through. I had to go through that too." The Hold Steady has returned to their Almost Killed Me roots. Screw concept albums – the only concept tying this album together is the concept of human experience. Their mustachioed keyboardist Franz Nicolay is notably absent. And while his fills and riffs were certainly an integral part of the group's sound, there is no mistaking the fact that this is their freshest sounding release since 2006’s Boys And Girls In America. That slide guitar on "Sweet Part of the City"? Dope. Finn's finest moment, however, comes in the form of a simple love song. "We Can Get Together" is about sitting on your beloved's bedroom floor, listening to a timeless record that stirs up the most wonderful kind of nostalgia. Heaven Is Whenever could easily become said timeless record. Saturated with warmth, humor, honesty - it is truly an album for the ages.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
My Life Aspiration: To Be This Guy
Who is this bespectacled, inoffensive-looking bumpkin? Why no other than Craig Finn, arguably current rock music's most prolific songwriter! In addition to fronting New York's favorite bar band, The Hold Steady, Finn is one of the most dynamic characters in the biz. A lovable misogynist whose honesty rings in the gruff, frenzied manner in which he speak-sings. Spending a long bus ride listening to The Hold Steady's Separation Sunday from start to finish is the sonic equivalent of reading a page-turning novel. But unlike the majority of page-turning novels, Sunday is an effing masterpiece. It could be called a concept album, but that would oversimplify its genius. The album revolves around Hallelujah ("but they kids, they call her Holly") a strung-out ex-Catholic School girl. Hallelujah is not merely one misled young woman, but a vehicle for Finn's brillliant, hilarious commentary on human nature. Betrayal. Disillusionment. The ins and outs of love and lust. She also provides him with a whole lot of context for his twistedly thought-provoking religious analogies. The Who sang "It's only teenage wasteland" but Finn takes the notion of wasted youth a step farther. Hallelujah begins her descent into drunkenness and physical dissipation on The Hold Steady's equally awesome debut Almost Killed Me. But Sunday offers a deeper look into her chaotic life. She "slept with too many skaters" ("Hornets! Hornets!") and likes the way her crucifix necklace looks "on her chest with three open buttons" ("Multitude Of Casualties"). But by the album's end she's reached a turning point, for better or for worse. "Youth services always find a way to get their bloody cross into your druggy little messed-up teenage life," sings Finn on "Multitude of Casualities". Hallelujah's journey, chronicled over the course of three albums, is intense, engaging and oh-so human. And not one second of the trip sounds forced or false. Gotta hand it to Craig Finn: dude calls it like he sees it, and damn, he calls it good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)