Even though at first the Hold Steady's classic rock'n'roll may seem, like, totally uncool, listen up. When they brazenly launch into Same Kooks they are the hottest band on the planet. It's the most fiery track on their third album andit's no wonder singer Craig Finn recommends you "wash it off in the Mississippi".
He sings by talking in a ramble. He could be drunk, yet he's got almost perfect elocution and in tone he sits somewhere between Caleb from the Kings of Leon and Bruce Springsteen.
Elsewhere the piano is delightful but, at times, and don't take this the wrong way, if the band wasn't backed up by some AC/DC bravado on the guitars and a rampant bottom end they could be Bruce Hornsby and the Ranger doing The Way It Is ... So no, it's not particularly cool, but it's a big part of the Brooklyn-based band's charm.
Moving from drinking anthems like Massive Nights and Party Pit (with the recurring line, "Going to walk around and drink some more") to the chugging storytelling of Chillout Tent, to the gentle First Night and the lovesick beauty of You Can Make Him Like You, there is no doubt this is music for every man and woman. Along with the Shins' latest album it is already a contender for one of the albums of the year.
Verdict: If indeed there is such as thing nowadays as classic rock that rocks then the Hold Steady are it.
