the hold steady don't really have many casual fans, you're either all in or you probably haven't spent enough time with their music (& definitely haven't seen them live)...the only problem with being all in though, is that sometimes you tend to get a little too attached to the songs, the ones that you've sung along to countless times, & when new ones come along it might be kind of hard to accept them as easily as the old favorites...at least that's how i felt the first couple times i listened to stay positive, which officially came out earlier this week...while there were certain tracks that immediately struck a chord, i couldn't help sizing up almost everything on the album to the band's previous work, & was actually sort of let down...but for some reason, when i came back to it a few days later, i was completely blown away...every song sounded better, tracks i had dismissed as weak retreads like "one for the cutters" & "yeah sapphire" had taken on new life, while standouts like the title track, "constructive summer", & "lord, i'm discouraged", now sounded like absolute classics...i've been playing this album into the ground for about a month now, & it seems to get better & better, the songs have all resonated & i'm starting to get pretty attached to them...& when the band takes the stage at union park tomorrow evening, you can bet i'll be there...singing along.
