The Hold Steady | Almost Killed Me | CD

The Hold Steady: Craig Finn (vocals); Tad Kubler (guitar); Galen Polivka (bass); Judd Counsell (drums).
Personnel: Craig Finn (vocals, guitar); Tad Kubler (guitar); Peter Hess (saxophone); Judd Counsell (drums).
Recording information: Atomic Recording Company.
Photographer: Tad Kubler.
The Hold Steady's songs evoke the smell of an old dive bar, where the alcohol has seeped into the very atmosphere of the place. Their debut, 2004's ALMOST KILLED ME, finds the drinks already spilling into the cracks. Over a crushing blues-rock tumult, Craig Finn spits and spins vivid stories of his sordid past, from Minneapolis ("I was a Twin Cities trash bin") to Brooklyn ("Everyone's a critic and most people are DJs"). It's apparent that Finn has led a colorful life and lived to tell about it. And it's his candidness and poeticism about his experience that carries his group way beyond a typical bar band.

• Format: CD
• Genre: Pop
• Released: 06/12/2007
• Released: 6/12/2007