We’re often told that “actions speak louder than words”, or that its better to be “the strong silent type”, implying that our society puts more value on what we do rather than what we say. This common logic however, is flawed. We live in world where politicians can sway the masses with speeches, where controversial newspaper columns induce riots, and where authors and musicians define their generations through their words.
This is why Craig Finn and The Hold Steady are the best rock band in the world. Even without their ballsy blend of classic and indie rock. Even without Craig Finn’s brutish, nasal growl. Even without the pounding organs and pianos that litter their songs, one thing remains. Finn’s magnificent lyrics. They’re vicious and heartwarming, caustic and honest, vivid and synonymous. Through his tales of hoodrats, drug addicts, and the Boys and Girls in America Finn uses his words like no other. Finn is the scribe of the restless, inebriated youth, romanticizing their drugged up mishaps with keen candor.
This isn’t anything new of course, last year’s Separation Sunday was a landmark in its own right; a rollicking rock throwback with a concept that was just hazy enough to be perfect. But Fin and his gang have saved their best for last. Boys and Girls in America is the culmination of everything The Hold Steady has been working to, and more. They drop the concept, this time favoring songs that can stand alone, and the result is memorizing.
Finn starts his lyrical onslaught early, and never lets up. “Stuck Between Stations” starts off with the Jack Kerouac quote from which the album takes its title, a bold yet efficient prologue for what’s in store. “Boys and Girls in America/ have such a sad time together” Finn says, quoting Kerouac, revealing the slightest hint of what could be considered singing. Standout track “Chips Ahoy” is based around a moody organ/guitar riff, upon which Finn tells of a girl who can predict the winning horse. Butt Finn is quick to note that all’s not well, “I love this girl/ but I can’t tell when she’s having a good time” he laments. “You Can Make Them Like You” also pulses with surging guitars and organs, painting a picture of a girl growing tired of her dependency on her boyfriend. As the song pushes into its soaring outro, Finn reminds her that, “There’s always other boys/ And you can make them like you”.
Reoccurring Finn character “Holly” makes a stop on the surprising ballad “First Night”. The born again Heroine from Separation Sunday has not aged well since we last met her. She misses the days of her youth, those ravenous nights spent getting high in the Twin Cities. In her exasperation she decrees that “Words alone can never save us”, but Finn has proved his own character wrong. Throughout the entirety of Boys and Girls in America, The Hold Steady remind us of the power that words truly hold. |