The Hold Steady – Price of Progress

Another year, another offering by prolific indie showman Craig Finn, or in this case, his mainstay band, The Hold Steady.  Finn has been on a roll for the past decade, having released seven albums over ten years.  Between his main band and solo output, the bridge between both projects has narrowed over the years.  With the more experimental aspects of Finn’s solo work bleeding into subsequent Hold Steady albums and the more holistic aspects of the band surfacing in catchy singable melodies throughout his solo output.

The Hold Steady’s latest full length, Price of Progress, comes on the coattails of Finn’s latest solo effort, A Legacy of Rentals, and the differences are striking.  While A Legacy of Rentals was primarily a mellow affair, Price of Progress is a lively and upbeat romp around town.  Built on a backbone of piano rock bolstered by crunchy guitars and a moody bass, these mid tempo tales of midlife’s various ups and downs ignite curiosity and reflection.

Opening with “Grand Junction,” the band makes the album’s first step one filled with swagger.  Synthy keys, crunchy distortion, delicate piano and a warbling tempo put everything on display here within the first chorus or two.  It’s a thick, mid-tempoed tune in which Finn wastes no time setting out his priorities.  Things accelerate with the advent of “Sideways Skull,” with Finn spinning his usual highly detailed narrative, this time involving lawyers, flashy outfits and a glam rock top hat that more than matches the song’s stylised backing vocals and brief moments of theatrical guitar.  The second half is particularly bouncy, with Franz Nicolay’s piano notes jubilantly adding their unmistakable touch.  Other tracks like “Perdido” and “City at Eleven” roll on with that casual kind of confidence that only The Hold Steady commands.  Comparisons to other bands always come up short, with the band occupying a unique niche in the indie rock scene for over two decades now.

If there’s one thing that Craig Finn’s solo work has added to The Hold Steady, it’s an unmistakable confidence with moments of spoken word.  While these don’t dominate the songs in the same way, they pop up in interesting and curious doses.  For instance, “Carlos is Crying” is essentially a melodic conversation that feels like a band-backed poetry slam complete with harmonica grooves.  Similarly, “The Birdwatchers” shifts effortlessly between vocal styles amidst a backdrop of chatty horns, xylophones, and other carnival-esque sounds.  Lines like “he had a guy working binoculars, he called himself a birdwatcher, but he knew that we were seeking out something beyond geese and grouse,” feel organic and lived in.  Listening to songs like “Distortions Of Faith” muddy the distinction between spoken word and melodic piano rock to the point where actively trying to discern between the two is a fruitless endeavor.  

So when all is said and done, fans of The Hold Steady may still be asking, what differentiates Price of Progress from other stellar albums from Finn and the gang?  The Hold Steady’s career can be divided into a few different eras, including the rambunctious early years (defined by Boys and Girls in America), the soul-searching years after Nicolay’s departure (often referenced as a low point), and a bit of a second coming marked by Nicolay’s return and the rapid expansion of Finn’s solo work.  The Price of Progress lands firmly in the latter, confidently expanding the current era without any grand agenda outside of just adding more great music to the band’s ever expanding output.  

Being partial to Finn’s spoken word tracks, Price of Progress hit all the right notes for me, making for a thoroughly engaging listen that never takes the easy route.  In a world where a catchy, repetitive chorus will earn you a top ten billboard hit, The Hold Steady strives for complexity, meaning and validation from their fans – and for that, we should be thankful.