The Hold Steady- Boys and Girls In America

The Hold Steady- Boys and Girls in America
Released: 10/3/06
Label: Vagrant Records
Home: Brooklyn
Rating: 8.1 out of 10

The "blue car theory" will get you every time...You know, the theory that once you own a blue car, you start to see blue cars everywhere. It is manifested often with learning new words and then hearing them all the time suddenly, etc. Anyway, I have recently been rifling through Kerouac's classic about Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty shotgunning across the US in search of some experiences. That's when I popped in The Hold Steady's new album "Boys and Girls in America." The title and opening line for the album is lifted straight from the pages of "On the Road." "There are nights when I think that Sal Paradise was right/Boys and Girls in America/They have such a sad time together."

In order for me to get really into an album then I have to be in sync with the writer. Nothing gets me going more than someone who can put the right words in a pot and create something magical. The most recent person who has done this is Craig Finn (formerly of Lifter Puller) the lead-singer/guitar player/primary songwriter for Vagrant Records band The Hold Steady. The first song "Stuck Between Stations" is the perfect example and one of my favorite opening tracks in a long time. The chorus holds the brilliant lines "She was a pretty cool kisser/And she wasn't all that strict of a Christian/She was damn, good dancer/But she wasn't all that great of a girlfriend." To be honest, the first song is the highlight of the album. "Stuck Between Stations" is just about the perfect indie-rock song. It opens up with a palm-muted 80's riff, then it is joined with a very Boss-like piano line for a few seconds until they turn it up and start playing straight-ahead rock n roll reminiscent of early AC/DC and of course, The Boss. There is a piano breakdown near the end of the song that will throw you for a loop because most bands are too scared of their influences to do anything stark and "classic rock"ish. Thank the Good Lord that THS are willing to lay it out there- tasteful guitar licks and bravado and all.

The first single is "Chips Ahoy" and it is certainly a great track about a girlfriend who makes her living betting on horses at the track. I don't know if I would have put it as the first single, but the songs on here complement the album format and it always feels wrong picking a single out of an album this cohesive. Some of the highlights include the hard-hitting Kerouac-jazz-beat of "Same Kooks" and the indie-show lighter-in-the-air-with-your-

tongue-in-your-cheek song "First Night." There are a lot of great moments on this album. The only problem with that is that they don't always last for entire songs. Save "Stuck Between Stations" a lot of these songs burn fast and before you get to the end, they've run out of gas.

All in all, Craig Finn steers this band into a great album that even surpasses their previous great album "Seperation Sunday".

RIYL: Silver Jews, Bruce Springsteen, Lifter Puller, music