The Hold Steady (CREDIT: Adam Parshall)

It would be a little hard-pressed and slightly reach to call The Hold Steady a Punk/Hardcore band,but they definitely seem to be a crew of former Punks/presently Punk-adjacent musicians. The Hold Steady's current 6-piece line-up consists of lead vocalist/guitarist Craig Finn, drummer Bobby Drake, pianist/keyboardist Franz Nicolay, bass guitarist Galen Polivka, lead guitarist Tad Kubler, and rhythm guitarist Steve Selvidge. Finn is seemingly a fan, mutual admirer, and supporter of Titus Andronicus, Brian Fallon (The Gaslight Anthem,) Against Me!/Laura Jane Grace, and Jeff & Laura AKA Jeff Rosenstock & Laura Stevenson (Bomb The Music Industry!) Plus, last year, Craig Finn released "It's Never Been A Fair Fight" as a solo single, which appeared to be a direct response to his feelings towards the state of the Punk/Hardcore scene at the time.


Bobby Drake spent time playing with Arm, who are described on Discogs as both "Alternative Rock, Post-Punk, Emo" and "Punk, Post-Punk, Indie Rock." Franz Nicolay is an ex-memebr of Brooklyn-based Punk band The World / Inferno Friendship Society. Steve Selvidge is currently a member of Bash & Pop, a side-band of The Replacements' founding bassist Tommy Stinson. While Tad Kubler was once a memebr of Lifter Puller/LFTR PLLR, along with Craig Finn, as well as Sioux City, Iowa-based "Screamo/Hardcore" band Song of Zarathustra. So, it's safe to say these fellas Punks through and through! Just yesterday, The Hold Steady announced their eighth proper studio album, Open Door Policy (ODP) to be released early next year, Friday, February 19, 2021, on the band's own Postive Jams imprint jointly with Thirty Tigers.


Along with the album announcement, The Hold Steady announced pre-orders and shared said album's lead-off single, "Family Farm." It definitely has a bit of a Punk/Rock edge running through it accompanied by bells, horns, and, of course, a shout/sing-along section. "Songs are created a bunch of different ways in The Hold Steady, but to me, our most classic songs are driving Rock songs with piano breaks," says singer Craig Finn. "'Family Farm" fits the bill. The genesis of the song was the guitar riff that starts it. Tad Kubler played a home demo for me and our producer, Josh Kaufman, and we thought it was worth pursuing. At this point, it had the working title "August." We brought it to the band and Franz [Nicolay] had the idea for the bridge. This seemed like a "scene change," of sorts, and gave the song more depth and intrigue."


"We recorded it in December 2019 at Yhe Clubhouse in Upstate New York, just after our annual run of shows at The Brooklyn Bowl. Our friends, Stuart Bogie & Jordan McLean added horns a bit later. I was, personally, happy to get a mention of Van Halen's "Eruption" in the lyrics and I appreciate it even more after Eddie Van Halen's unfortunate recent passing. Overall, it feels like a song that will be fun to play live—uptempo, dynamic, and a chorus with shout-along potential." In addition to Open Door Policy, The Hold Steady, additionally, announced a tenth anniversary edition of their fifth studio album, Heaven Is Whenever. The Hold Steady are still holding their annual string of Massive Nights concerts this year, albeit, via livestreams, to be held at The Brooklyn Bowl This upcoming Thursday through Saturday, 12/3-5. The Hold Steady's Open Door Policy is now available for pre-order and will be released February 19, 2021 on Positive Jams/Thirty Tigers.