The Hold Steady had grand plans for 2020, with tour dates that would have taken place during the summer and whatnot. And, again, you know, 2020. Singer Craig Finn released some new solo music and they’re reissuing Heaven Is Whenever. It definitely appears the band has been using their time wisely: The Hold Steady will release their eighth studio album, OPEN DOOR POLICY, on Feb. 19, 2021.
It was recorded in upstate New York with producer Josh Kaufman and engineer D. James Goodwin. It’s the second album with this itineration of The Hold Steady.
From it comes the stomping rocker “Family Farm,” which you can hear below.
Here’s what Finn had to say about it all:
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“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.”
“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. 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.”
Listen to the aforementioned “Family Farm” below.
Preorder OPEN DOOR POLICY here.
