The Hold Steady – Heaven is Wherever (Vagrant Records)
Having been blown away by the rambling looseness of the Hold Steady’s 2005 record Separation Sunday, and watched the slow but steady rise of the Brooklyn band in the time since, the first listen to Heaven is Anywhere sees the band step away from the bar-room brawling sound that they encapsulated, and into a more melodic sound. Gone are keyboardist Franz Nicolay and his space-filling contribution, replaced by a tighter, thicker production courtesy of long-time producer Dean Baltulonis.
To learn that Baltulonis – who also produced Separation Sunday and the band’s debut Almost Killed Me – was behind the desk for Heaven is Wherever is somewhat surprising, given that the sound of this record is so different from previous Hold Steady releases. While vocalist Craig Finn’s verses still sprawl across the speakers like a letter, hand-written in marker in a bathroom stall, the hook-laden choruses of tracks like first single “Hurricane J” contribute more of a packaged sound than previously.
Such an approach will no doubt help the band capitalise on the relative success of their last two albums (both of which charted in the US & UK), especially 2008’s Stay Positive. Unfortunately, for those who loved the unkempt, seemingly-improvised nature of the Hold Steady’s earlier work, there will be moments on Heaven is Wherever – such as the lush yet weak “Barely Breathing” – that start solidly but get bogged down in finding other ways to fill Nicolay’s void (in this case with reverb-heavy backing vocals and horns, despite some seriously sassy clarinet) that fail to inspire.
There are however definitive moments of success. “The Weekender” sees the band use their new direction to their advantage, in making the most of volume, tempo and contrast. The percussive element of the band is also (slightly) more experimental, with tracks like “The Smidge” incorporating tambourines and the like to fill out the song’s vertical space.
The drunken swagger is still there. The drawl is still there (“Girls wanna go to the party/But no one’s in any shape to drive/So we call up a guy and when he comes we’re gonna ask for a ride” – ‘Rock Problems’). The guitar riffs are definitely still there. And although Heaven is Wherever indicates the Hold Steady have graduated from back-bar band to frontline festival favourite, there’s still more than enough here to listen to at 1am. Just not too much later than that.
