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The Hold Steady

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The Hold Steady was formed after Minneapolis native and Lifter Puller veteran Craig Finn moved to Brooklyn and started to put a more verbose slant on his sound. Comparisons to Bruce Springsteen soon followed the already appropriate comparisons to fellow Twin Cities veterans Replacements and Husker Du. Almost Killed Me (2004), starting with the century-summarizing "Positive Jam," combined Finn's rocking tendencies with his logorrheic capabilities as a Sprechstimme vocalist. That album was followed by the critically beloved Separation Sunday (2005) and the breakthrough success of Boys And Girls of America (2006) (a pseudo-concept album based on Kerouac), which also saw the expanded role of guitarist Tad Kubler.

By now one of the bigger bands of the Internet era, the Hold Steady released Stay Positive in the summer of 2008, which received no fewer raves. CD/DVD package A Positive Rage (2009) documented the band's already heralded live performances. Keyboardist Franz Nicloay left the band in 2009 on less-than-amiacable terms, right before the band started recording Heaven Is Whenever (2010). ~Ethan Stanislawski

Photo Credit: Chris Owyoung/Prefixmag.com