REVIEW: The Hold Steady "Separation Sunday"



Rating: 9.5


I can't believe I missed this.  I remember scanning it at one of those tinny listening kiosks somewhere and thinking about the unlikelihood of my ever being drawn to a pseudo-literate Randy Newman sound-alike shouting at me about doing drugs in Minneapolis over chugging roadhouse guitars.  So I'm an idiot and now it's all I can listen to.

The album's first half boasts what may be the best first-six-song combo strung together since people like me started keeping track of such ridiculous things, followed by a much needed respite before a one-two follow up near the end.  Themes and characters that would soon inhabit Boys and Girls in America are introduced then mythologized to Biblical proportions, literally, alongside Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel.  A must have rocker with brains, brawn, heart and soul to spare.  Credit this one an extra little half star up there.

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