The Hold Steady - The Price Of Progress

Formed in 2003, The Hold Steady have released eight albums, numerous singles and played over 1000 shows. The Price of Progress is the ninth studio album from the band, released on the band’s Positive Jams label via Thirty Tigers.

The Price of Progress arrives as The Hold Steady mark the 20th anniversary of their foundation bringing new ideas, sounds, and textures to a still-evolving canon of nine studio album releases that began with 2004’s Almost Killed Me. The album was produced by longtime collaborator Josh Kaufman at The Clubhouse in Rhinebeck, NY, and mixed by D. James Goodwin. The Price of Progress stands as their most sonically expansive record thus far, while also remaining unmistakably The Hold Steady, showcasing narrative rock ‘n’ roll tales of ordinary people struggling and surviving in a modern world.

The front and back of the album cover feature photographs by renowned Minneapolis based photographer Alec Soth. “These are some of the most cinematic songs in The Hold Steady catalog,” says Finn, “and the record was a joy to make. I feel like we went somewhere we haven’t before, which is a very exciting thing for a band that is two decades into our career.”

The Brooklyn-based band has performed in all 50 states in the USA and throughout Canada, Europe and Australia. The Hold Steady music has appeared across movies, advertising and TV, including on Game Of Thrones and Billions, in addition to writing original material for Seth Meyers cartoon The Awesomes and Meyers’ 2019 stand-up comedy special Lobby Baby. Released in early 2021, The Hold Steady’s most recent record Open Door Policy, achieved the band’s highest chart position of any album, debuting #6 on the Billboard Current Album Chart. Vulture gushed the record “expands their horizons,” and “gives the Hold Steady new heft and variety without undercutting the sharpness of the hooks or singer-guitarist Craig Finn’s heart-wrenching novelistic lyricism.” The album received praise from Pitchfork, Uncut, MOJO, NME, Rolling Stone and Classic Rock to name a few, as well as an NPR Tiny Desk performance.

As 2023 marks the 20th Anniversary of The Hold Steady, fans will see an expanded collection of activities and music release to celebrate the milestone. Year five of The Weekender, The Hold Steady’s annual visit to the UK with a 3-night stop in London, occurs March 10-12, 2023. The Hold Steady is: Bobby Drake (drums), Craig Finn (vocals), Tad Kubler (guitar, vocals), Franz Nicolay (keyboards, vocals), Galen Polivka (bass), and Steve Selvidge (guitar, vocals)

TRACKLISTING

1. Grand Junction
2. Sideways Skull
3. Carlos is Crying
4. Understudies
5. Sixers
6. The Birdwatchers
7. City at Eleven
8. Perdido
9. Distortions of Faith
10. Flyover Halftime

PRODUCT DETAILS

Artist:  The Hold Steady
Label:  Thirty Tigers
Condition:  New 
Genre:  Rock & Psych
Format:  Vinyl LP
Cat Number:  07076EXC
Released:  31st March 2023