The Hold Steady are returning with a new album. Called Open Door Policy, the long-running group's eighth full-length will arrive on February 19 via Positive Jams/Thirty Tigers.
To get us going, the Hold Steady have shared the new track "Family Farm," which you can check out below.
In a statement, Hold Steady singer Craig Finn said the following of the song:
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. "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 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 the Clubhouse in upstate NY, just after our annual run of shows at the Brooklyn Bowl. Our friends Stuart Bogie and 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.
The album was recorded at the Clubhouse in Rhinebeck, NY, with producer Josh Kaufman and engineer D. James Goodwin.
"Open Door Policy was very much approached as an album vs. a collection of individual songs, and it feels like our most musically expansive record," explained Finn. "This album was written and almost entirely recorded before the pandemic started, but the songs and stories explore power, wealth, mental health, technology, capitalism, consumerism, and survival — issues which have compounded in 2020."
The Hold Steady's latest album was 2019's Thrashing Thru the Passion.
Open Door Policy:
1. The Feelers
2. Spices
3. Lanyards
4. Family Farm
5. Unpleasant Breakfast
6. Heavy Covenant
7. The Prior Procedure
8. Riptown
9. Me & Magdalena
10. Hanover Camera
11. Parade Days
Pre-order Open Door Policy.
To get us going, the Hold Steady have shared the new track "Family Farm," which you can check out below.
In a statement, Hold Steady singer Craig Finn said the following of the song:
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. "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 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 the Clubhouse in upstate NY, just after our annual run of shows at the Brooklyn Bowl. Our friends Stuart Bogie and 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.
The album was recorded at the Clubhouse in Rhinebeck, NY, with producer Josh Kaufman and engineer D. James Goodwin.
"Open Door Policy was very much approached as an album vs. a collection of individual songs, and it feels like our most musically expansive record," explained Finn. "This album was written and almost entirely recorded before the pandemic started, but the songs and stories explore power, wealth, mental health, technology, capitalism, consumerism, and survival — issues which have compounded in 2020."
The Hold Steady's latest album was 2019's Thrashing Thru the Passion.
Open Door Policy:
1. The Feelers
2. Spices
3. Lanyards
4. Family Farm
5. Unpleasant Breakfast
6. Heavy Covenant
7. The Prior Procedure
8. Riptown
9. Me & Magdalena
10. Hanover Camera
11. Parade Days
Pre-order Open Door Policy.
