New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Vagrant Records) - The
Hold Steady - the Brooklyn based band lauded for "scope and depth that are all too rare in contemporary rock- indie or mainstream" (Pitchfork), recently put the finishing touches on 'Stay Positive,' their new album set for release July 15 on Vagrant Records. The album was produced by John Agnello and recorded at Water
Music in Hoboken, NJ and Wild Arctic Studios in Queens, NY, with mixing at the Magic Shop in Soho in Manhattan.
Singer Craig Finn defines 'Stay Positive' as an album, musically and lyrically, about the attempt to age gracefully. Incorporating harpsichord, banjo and talk box, on "Stay Positive" the band's gift for literate, anthemic songwriting finds a new focus Finn calls 'more musical... more dynamics, different instrumentation, more complex arrangements, and not always hiding behind raw volume.'
The songs came together on the road, as the band was touring the world behind 2006's breakthrough 'Boys and Girls in America,' a run that found the band playing well over 200 shows in 2007 alone. Says Finn, "possibly the most exciting aspect of our band is the community of fans that have followed us around the country. In talking to them, we have found that no matter their ages, they are so much like us as people, that they seem at times an extension of the music. A great American philosopher named D. Boon once said 'Our band could be your life.' I think that is true. But 'Your Life could be Our Band' is also a true statement. I know this because we have lived it. These are our lives. These are your lives. This is our fourth record. Stay Positive."
The Hold Steady is: Craig Finn, Tad Kubler, Galen Polivka, Bobby Drake, Franz Nicolay.
'Stay Positive' track listing:
1. Constructive Summer
2. Sequestered in Memphis
3. One for the Cutters
4. Navy Sheets
5. Lord, I'm Discouraged
6. Yeah Sapphire
7. Both Crosses
8. Stay Positive
9. Magazines
10. Joke About Jamaica
11. Slapped Actress
The band will perform a sold out show Friday, May 2 at Webster Hall in NYC as part of the Tribeca Film Festival, and kick off a major tour this summer following a free hometown show at JELLYNYC's Pool Parties at Brooklyn's McCarren Pool on June 29.
Confirmed US summer tour dates below.
May 2 - New York, NY - Webster Hall (Tribeca Film Fest)
May 7 - Middletown, CT - Andrus Field @ Wesleyan University
June 8 - Chula Vista, CA - 94/9 Independence Jam
June 27 - Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live!
June 28 - Philadelphia, PA - Festival Pier - The Paul Green School of Rock Music Festival w/ Devo
June 29 - Brooklyn, NY - McCarren Pool
July 19 - Chicago, IL - Pitchfork Festival
July 26 - Seattle, WA - Capitol Hill Block Party
'Stay Positive' will be released in the UK July 14 on Rough Trade.
