Monday, May 3, 2010

The Hold Steady Heaven Is Whenever released

Heaven Is Whenever

The Hold Steady


Released: May 3, 2010


Peak: 26 US, 45 UK


Sales (in millions): 0.023 US, -- UK


Genre: post-punk revival


Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release)

  1. The Sweet Part of the City [4:24]
  2. Soft in the Center [3:50]
  3. The Weekenders [3:48]
  4. The Smidge [3:22]
  5. Rock Problems (Finn, Kubler, John Reis) [3:31]
  6. We Can Get Together [4:29]
  7. Hurricane J (Finn, Kubler, Franz Nicolay) [3:02] (3/22/10, --)
  8. Barely Breathing [3:37]
  9. Our Whole Lives [4:00]
  10. A Slight Discomfort [7:13]
All songs written by Craig Finn and Tad Kubler unless noted otherwise.


Total Running Time: 41:21


The Players:

  • Craig Finn (vocals, guitar)
  • Tad Kubler (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals)
  • Galen Polivka (bass, backing vocals)
  • Bobby Drake (drums, percussion, backing vocals)

Rating:

3.746 out of 5.00 (average of 35 ratings)


Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

The Hold Steady formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2003. They came to prominence with the released of their third album, 2006’s Boys and Girls in America and reached their commercial peak with this album, 2010’s Heaven Is Whenever. Lead sing Craig Finn compared it to their previous album, Stay Positive, saying that “was a record about trying to age gracefully. This record, I think actually was us aging gracefully.” WK

Dean Baltulonis, who produced the band’s first two albums, returned as the producer for this album. Finn said he is “a real close friend, so it was kind of a more relaxed, less formal way of making a record.” WK Keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Franz Nicolay had left the band by this point. Guitarist Tad Kubler and Dan Neustadt both play piano and keyboards on the album, but in general the instruments are less featured here. WK

Lyrically, Finn said the album deals with “struggle and reward. It’s about embracing suffering and understanding its place in a joyful life. I think that soe of the characters from old records are there, but I don’t name them by name. I think it continues to examine the highs and lows that we’ve looked at on previous records.” WK


Notes: The iTunes version included the bonus tracks “Touchless” and “Ascension Blues.” A 2020 super deluxe edition included the songs “Separate Vacations,” “Criminal Fingers,” “Beer on the Bedstand,” “At Least Not Tonight,” “Wonderful Struggle,” Going on a Hike,” and “We Can Get Together.”

Resources and Related Links:


First posted 3/9/2022.

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