The Hold Steady - Stay Positive

How do you follow up an album bordering on canonization? With another classic, of course. After drawing united and unsparing critical praise for Boys and Girls in America (but curiously dividing public opinion on a scale rivalling that of Marmite), the release of Stay Positive confirms Craig Finn as one of the finest songwriters of his generation. Ostensibly, not much has changed here: The Hold Steady have marked progression without sacrificing the idiosyncrasies that defined them. Tad Kubler's crunching guitars are still mollified by the keys of Franz Nicolay, but he's filled out his repertoire with harpsichords and synths. Finn's gargled vocals still plead bar-room debauchery, but there's more to Stay Positive than drunken yarn spinning: this is ingeniously clever stuff, check the baroque-tinged Up The Cutters for details. It's a slower burner than its predecessor, but a dozen spins on and it's clear: The Hold Steady are still on irrepressible form. (Finbarr Bermingham)