Artist The Hold Steady

Mark Seliger

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The Hold Steady

Hey, remember when The Hold Steady was, like, a thing? Remember when the mere mention of the Brooklyn, New York-based band’s name caused your friends to squeal in delight, and/or scoff in disgust? The group’s infectious (some would say forced) populist vibe worked wonders on a series of terrific (some would say unlistenable) albums, most notably Boys And Girls In America and Stay Positive. But after last year’s not-bad-but-also-not-great Heaven Is Whenever—which marked the departure of keyboardist Franz Nicolay—the arguments and gnashing of teeth seemed to cool. (Even the fake Craig Finn Twitter feed seems to be out of steam these days.) Still, Heaven exudes nonstop nostalgia for the good old days, with Finn’s reminiscing sounding even more wistful than usual.

Updated 08/09/2011