The Hold Steady – Open Door Policy

The Hold Steady has tread considerable ground over the past few years. Front man Craig Finn explored a trilogy of solo albums, pianist Franz Nicolay made his big studio return with Thrashing Through The Passion and the band has settled into a new mid-life normal that goes along with a bit of a mid-career revival.  Following the momentum of their previous release, the band’s eighth full length, Open Door Policy, comes a quick two years later and capitalizes on the energy that has been pulsing from the band ever since.  

Once again, the band inserts listeners into the middle of a narrative-heavy imagery, complete with believable descriptors of flawed and honest characters.  “It was an early morning meet up, at the mansion on the mountain, the maestro still had glitter on his face,” describes Finn in the opening moments of “The Feelers.” A description of privilege and generational entitlement emerges through descriptions of the surroundings with clever word play, such as focusing on a “picture of his father and the fortune he had amassed from being ruthless but polite,” along with various traditional mementos and items.  The track’s casual combination of piano and guitar float along in a misty haze of consciousness, mirroring the sense of disillusionment present in so many of The Hold Steady’s recurring cast of characters.  

Images of “bartenders strangling their shakers” and the in-crowd texting pictures of poker chips while galavanting around “springtime in the sweet part of the city” paint images of indulgence and excess in tracks like “The Spices.”  “Family Farm” illustrates this further with the image of a protagonist who finds himself out of his league, dating a girl who invites him back to the “family farm” only to be greeted with armed guards in watch towers surrounding a compound complete with an airstrip.  Finn humorously captures the protagonist’s ability to rationalise the experience with the line, “I guess they had trouble with the neighbours.”  A track later, “Unpleasant Ghost” confronts the novelty of a transient lifestyle wearing thin, throwing into question the sustainability of the lifestyles propping up Open Door Policy.  “You can’t just keep throwing up and then cover it with sawdust – expecting us not to notice and pretend it didn’t happen,” describes Finn.  A high pitched vocal siren punctuates each line, matching the sense of energy brimming from the accompanying brass.  “I no longer see the romance in these ghosts,” echoes Finn, revealing a sense of fatigue from being unable to shake the habit and downward projection despite an outwardly flashy lifestyle.

On that note, Open Door Policy’s instrumentation very much evolves and responds as each track’s narrative unfolds.  There are upbeat boppers like “Heavy Covenant” and “The Prior Procedure,” complete with lush horn blasts and a blanket of quivering 8-bit organ keys, and those like “Lanyards” that inspire a sense of awe and wonder with their nearly-singable chorus lines.  Finn’s vocals are more sing-songy than ever, but the essence of his spoken-word style remains as colloquial as fans have come to expect.  Emotions and moods mix with ease, finding balance between complement and contrast, sarcasm and earnestness – building on characters that become more interesting with each reacquaintance.  

When the final curtain calls, the various characters find themselves every bit as dysfunctional, ready to repeat past mistakes, and learning life’s lessons the hard way.  Open Door Policy ends on the carefree, jazzy number, “Hanover Camera,” which flirts with elements of adult contemporary guitars and a washed out atmosphere that mirrors the cover art.  This final track isn’t the end of a journey, just one more step in the band’s ever evolving narratives.  In that regard, The Hold Steady exists in a bubble – indie trends have come and gone over the years, but Craig Finn and the gang have held true to their vision while remaining relevant in an industry that’s quick to forget.  Open Door Policy is another reassuring return for The Hold Steady – one that finds the band working through its own midlife rough patches while acknowledging various milestones along the way.