Boys and Girls in America

Springsteen meets pop punk - it's fast paced and dirty heartland rock with organs and keys, very tight compressed mid-pushed guitars, and a hoarse vocal singing in the exact Bruce cadence. A band that missed the 90s alt rock radio party by a decade.

The hold steady were a band I'd always thought I'd like, and I was right about that.

I don't like Finn's voice. The music is fine, but not particularly memorable.

who is this album for? not my thing, mainly because the singing is so flat. Though "I've had kisses that made Judas seem sincere" is a good line.

I had another album by these guys last week (Separation Sunday). I was floored by how much I love these guys sound. This is right in the pocket of money I love. Somehow this was a blind spot I had, having never heard of these guys before. Since last week's listen to Separation Sunday, I delved into their whole discography. Admittedly, this album is my favorite, however, everything they have made is great! Thank you Op, The Hold Steady now has a new fan! This is the shit!!

Favourite songs: Same Kooks, Stuck Between Stations, Hot Soft Light, First Night, Girls Like Status, South Town Girls, You Can Make Him Like You, Chips Ahoy, Party Pit, Chill Out Tent, Citrus

Least favourite songs: if forced to pick, Arms and Hearts

5/5

Punk sensibilities. None of these songs rise to the level of The Cattle and the Creeping Things but would definitely listen again

This is undoubtedly the best from The Hold Steady, a band whose albums haven't always been convincing, but on this one, everything falls into place. Are they original? Far from it. Can the singer sing? Not really, but he spits out the words and manages to give it all a certain punk edge. Okay, it's all been done before and better, but sometimes, after a hard day at work, you just want to put on an album full of cheerful music played with obvious joy.

Spruce Bringsteen

I'm not sure if these guys have been featured on "The Bear" soundtrack, but this is the most "The Bear" music ever. Like that series, it's all very raw and emotional but also totally by-the-numbers and superficial and ultimately doesn't say or do anything that hasn't been said or done a million times before.

July 8, 2025

HL: "First Night", "Massive Nights", "Chillout Tent", "Teenage Liberation" (bonus)

Based on the cover, the Hold Steady does not sound like I thought they would. It looks like how "Shake It" by Metro Station sounds to me.
Anyway, solid pick! Once I got past the reverence for 80's Americana (which I thought was a crutch for another band on this list, Titus Andronicus), it had the feet tappin'.

3.5/5

edit: ohhh I should have known that name! They provided one of my favourite musical moments in Game of Thrones, covering "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" in the credits right after a particularly grisly cliffhanger.

How is this from 2006? So mediocre 80s stadium rock, it must have sounded like a relic when it came out. Ok, but no better. Other bands and artists have covered this ground in a much more enjoyable and entertaining way. Sounds like a whole bunch of other albums already in the book, but a tiny bit duller.

Good alt rock record.

Paint-by-numbers, boring rock for paint-by-numbers, boring people who've not heard enough music to actually know what's good out there.

Guy who recommended this, how's much cheap beer do you consume in a given week?

This sounds like the lead singer from Soul Coughing lost all interest in jazz and became obsessed with drugs.