Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?: Best Of 2006 (III)

Listening to The Hold Steady always brings to mind a good time, free flow of beer and lots of fun. Boys And Girls In America is one of the most anticipated releases of 2006 and it doesn't disappoint. It's raucuous and sometimes it's more spoken (or rather, shout) than sung and Craig Finn's voice is definitely an acquired taste but god, the pianos! I love how they are everywhere, it just gives a whole new dimension to the bar-rock that defines the previous albums. And it does pay to decipher exactly what Finn is going on about; he's full of stories about restless kids and drunken nights . You listen to "Chips Ahoy" and tell me you don't feel like jumping onto a table in a pub somewhere with a paper cup overflowing with beer, and dancing your arse off.


M. Ward is on the other end of the spectrum from The Hold Steady, that's for sure. He is more contemplative, more folksy than rock. But while this is true in Transistor Radio, we find him ditching his usual quiet self for a rather surprising uplifing persona. It did take some getting used to but all is good. I particularly love "To go home" and "Post-war." I've been getting into a lot of the american folksy-roots stuff this year but M. Ward always seems a little more intimate and familiar to me. It reminds me of Sunday afternoons where it's hot and bright outside and I've just drew the blinds shut and slumped into my big ass chair, reading a book and trying to forget that Monday will come along very soon (don't ask me why).

The Hold Steady - Chips Ahoy
M. Ward - To Go Home