The Hold Steady - Heaven Is Whenever

The Hold Steady
Heaven Is Whenever
2010 Vagrant

The Hold Steady’s new album, Heaven Is Whenever, follows their unrightfully slagged 2008 album Stay Positive (review here, and yes, it’s becoming weird that this site has been around long enough to review multiple new albums from bands), which stands as one of their strongest efforts. Since Stay Positive, keyboardist Franz Nicolay left the band to focus on something called Guignol, which, according to Wikipedia, is his new “gypsy-klemzer troupe”. Listening to Heaven Is Whenever, it’s hard to say that Nicolay’s departure has hurt the band; they’re still great songwriters. Some of the little flourishes his piano work provided, however, helped those older Hold Steady albums reach heights that Heaven Is Whenever can’t quite get to. Though the band soldiers on admirably without Nicolay, Heaven Is Whenever does give off the feeling that something is missing.

We begin with a soft and thoughtful opener, “The Sweet Part of the City”, which does a really nice job of beginning things, even though it’s followed by several rockers in a row. Its bittersweet, mournful tone opens the door to a cavalcade of straight-on rock tunes (four in a row and five of the next six).

Heaven Is Whenever finds the Hold Steady all-business, rarely taking detours or introducing contrasting pieces or movements within songs. This lends the album a very streamlined feel, which works well while actually listening to it. The sequence of “Soft in the Center”/”The Weekenders”/”The Smidge”/”Rock Problems”, tracks two through five, steamrolls over the first half of the record without letting up or slowing down. This speed hurts the album when considering it as a whole, however, because it feels like it’s over before it even begins.

Even though the band’s previous albums have comparable lengths, those albums each had an epic feel that made them sound bigger and more important. Heaven Is Whenever lacks that staying power, rocking out for forty or so minutes before disappearing. True standout moments are few and far between. “Hurricane J” provides a blistering three-minute romp, and “Our Whole Lives”, with its matter-of-fact, unapologetic chorus, helps carry the album strongly to its conclusion.

Heaven Is Whenever is a very good rock record, but it rarely reaches the transcendental heights of the band’s previous efforts. Heaven Is Whenever may be a victim of the Holy Steady having spoiled us in the past. If any of the songs went beyond merely the very good, this might stand as one of their best.

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John Lacey