The Hold Steady return with their next album about the sentimental love between music lovers. They also inch a little closer to crossover territory from a success perspective, which changes the production a little but not too dramatically. At their heart, THS are still a bar band like the Replacements on E Street.The album kicks off with an almost-Black Crowes vibe on "The Sweet Part of the City". An excellent tune to kick off where we introduce the guys as regular kids who partied with other lovable people before they "got bored and started a band."
The best track avoids Craig Finn's sentimental stories of youth altogether. "The Weekenders" focuses on some adults making some questionable decisions in their secretive relationship. "In the end, only girls know the real truth" Here is also where you'll hear some of that crossover effort I was talking about. Nothing as dramatic as the Kings Of Leon shift, but it's still features more background harmony vocals that previous albums.
And there are a couple of straight up poppier tracks that take us out of the bar and into the summertime car radio. The most obvious example here is where the album title comes from in "We Can Get Together". A near-ballad pace where "heaven is the whole of the heart" and the riff is actually a repeated angelic lady-vocal choir. This is also the track where Criag's legendary shout-outs reach it's most fevered apex. In one song, he references Pavement, Hüsker Dü, Meat Loaf and others.
But don't let me scare you; the album is not far enough away from classic bar rock that the Steady deliver with excellent song writing. The closer, "A Slight Discomfort" toys with the 7-minute epic format, but comes across as sounding downright "Afghan Whig-y" which is pretty awesome. (4 of 5 stars)
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