It's not often these days that you see a band pull off unadulterated, good old-fashioned rock music. But that's what The Hold Steady do, proficiently, complete with ostentatious guitar solos, rough sandpaper vocals and Franz Nicolay's skilful but never overbearing rock 'n' roll piano - the glue that holds it all together. And they do it while maintaining a distinctive sound, without sounding naff or re-hashed, sounding at once classic and modern. They blend just the right amount of experimentation by the way of new-wave keyboards (Navy Sheets) or harpsichord (One For The Cutters) with the likes of old-school 60s style organ and soul horns and trumpets. The Hold Steady are no cowards when it comes to scale either, as Slapped Actress, a song inspired by John Cassavetes' 1977 classic film "Opening Night", plays out the album authoritatively with a robust, almost gospel style choir of "whoas", in a similar fashion to rocking single Sequestered in Memphis' closing chorus repetition. The Hold Steady embrace the subject matter that comes with the territory of their chosen genre - sex, drugs and rock and roll (as ever, plenty of stories about getting wasted and picking up chicks in bars). But to say that is a simplification that belies the dark undercurrent running through Stay Positive. Stories of stabbings, murder, interrogation and crucifixion lurk in contention with the title track's message of optimism. Frontman Chris Finn has described Stay Positive as an album about "ageing gracefully," and the characters and stories here work ultimately as vessels for his ideas and themes. Stay Positive is a complex and multi-layered album, one that brings something new with every listen. Play it loudly!
