Heaven Is Whenever (Audio CD)

   There's an expansiveness, a sense of space to this album which The Hold Steady hasn't ever allowed itself before. Several songs are familiarly "Hold Steadyish" with the loud, crunchy guitars fans are used to ("Hurricane J", "Rock Problems"), but the two openers, "The Sweet Part of the City" and "Soft in the Center", for instance are breezy, roomy rock numbers with Craig Finn sounding more at ease with himself than ever before. If their previous album, Stay Positive, is, as the band said, about aging with grace in a youth-oriented rock culture, Heaven Is Whenever sees The Hold Steady settling in as confident elder statesmen. At the same time, Finn is still giving props to his past and his predecessors -- "Barely Breathing" tells a fun story about hardcore easing into its late '80s post-heyday, for instance, and the lush "We Can Get Togehter" consist of a whirlwind of references that even the most astute afficianado will need three or more listens to completely catalog.The...Read more