love 'em or hate 'em, they sure write a lot of songs about drinking.

Blogosphere darlings, and fervent Springsteen admirers, the Hold Steady's new album is peppered with anthemic, bar floor smelling ditties. Whomever claimed that the Killers new album hearkens back to the days of Asbury Park should be shot, because this LP screams Boss. Just drunker.

Lead singer Craig Finn's mono-baritone delivery is gruffy, yet emotional and for some reason oddly familiar. I've had Boys and Girls of America in my weekly rotation for a month now, and I'm convinced that songs like Party Pit and Stuck Between Stations are going to be the internal soundtracks to the (fond?) memories of high school parties past.

Some might find their subject matter sophomoric and silly, (the word drunk is uttered upwards of a million times and one song is about a girl on mushrooms) but no one can deny their authenticity. I get the feeling that these guys are writing about what they know, and what they know is, well, having a fucking blast.

I'm still trying to figure out the new and "improved" hosting service I've been at odds with, so I couldn't actually post MP3 files, but check out theirMySpace page.
The Hold Steady on MySpace.