The Hold Steady

It’s often hard to decide if we should love the Hold Steady for its ardent classic-rock affectations or if we should act indifferent. The Brooklyn five-piece, and its eloquent lyricist and frontman Craig Finn, has a consummate grasp of the bar-band liturgy. Tales of burnouts and beer bashes carry unquestionable authenticity live when spewed by a dude clad in flannel, nursing his sixth Rolling Rock. When Finn turned up to drawl-snarl Bob Dylan’s “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window” on last year’s I’m Not There soundtrack, he was perfect for the job, bringing an articulate soulfulness as his bandmates seamlessly evoked the sweeping, piano-splashed arrangements that connect the Band to the E Street Band.

Stay Positive builds on the successful formula. On this fourth album, the Hold Steady adds odd touches like harpsichord, theremin and banjo to the anthemic clamor of electric guitars. The disc’s opening “Constructive Summer” erupts as if the boys were going head-to-head with the reignited R.E.M.

What’s lovable about the Hold Steady remains Finn’s adroit way with a story, dropping couplets with the verbal swerve of Jay-Z. Songs such as “Sequestered in Memphis” and “Slapped Actress”—largely about late nights, grubby bars and troubled women—are just abstract enough to compel curiosity while Finn grabs a freeze-frame. “I’ll be John Cassavetes,” he tells a companion in “Actress.” “Let me know when you’re ready.”

And yet, the group’s masterful command of its sound can also feel predictable, as if it were only a matter of mixing and matching a stash of purposefully evocative solos. Let’s hope the Hold Steady doesn’t wind up like its favorite alcoholic libation: canned.