THE HOLD STEADY Vinyl & CDs

Review: It's album number nine from The Hold Steady, who, as it happens, marked 20 years as a band with this release (or at least the anniversary roughly coincided with the LP landing in stores). During that time, these masters of rough and tumble, near-barroom rock for and by the people, have climbed the ladder of musical fame, enjoyed time in a well-deserved limelight, and then returned to the underground from whence they came.
Understanding that journey is important. Achieving heights of mainstream success a decade or so ago, it's not that the half-spoken word vocal delivery of frontman Craig Finn has waned in impact or emotional resonance. Nor has the timeless, brass and piano hued rock & roll instrumentation gone stale. Instead, their relentless consistency means we almost take the quality of every song and record for granted, leaving die hard fans to carry the torch. Perhaps now is the time to correct that.