The Hold Steady

This band grew on me overnight. I got it on a recommendation from a friend. But upon the first listen I didn't get it. For the next two hours I was thinking about Chip's Ahoy and Boston. When I realized what was going on I popped the album back in and took another listen. It is still there.

The Hold Steady are a Brooklyn-based musical group, although the members are from Minneapolis; something that is frequently reflected in the group's lyrics. Frontman Craig Finn was previously vocalist for Twin Cities band Lifter Puller. Their first album Almost Killed Me (2004) was a sleeper hit among music critics, later appearing at #31 in the influential Pazz & Jop listing in New York, New York's Village Voice. Some months later in May 2005, they were the first rock group to grace the Voice's front page in 15 years. The group's second album, Separation Sunday, was released later in the month. The album was a concept album following the story of a girl named Holly (Short for Hallelujah) and her quest to find a balance between Catholicism and Rock and Roll. After Separation Sunday, the band moved from the Frenchkiss Records imprint with their third album Boys and Girls in America (2006) to Vagrant Records.