The Hold Steady Receive Raves For Live Shows, Early Praise For 'Stay Positive'

New York, NY. (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - The Hold Steady have been winning raves for their live shows, as they prepare to launch a month long US tour and release 'Stay Positive,' out on CD July 15 on Vagrant Records.

Here's what we've been hearing about the shows:

Craig Finn is "a gifted storyteller and a rock 'n' roll true believer, as his lyrics routinely confirm... [he] performed each song as if he were being jacked with electrical current" - New York Times

"The Hold Steady arrived in our town on Thursday like Pied Pipers of the indie nation, come to lure the children away from all things uptight and unthrilling with the most seductive tools in modern youthdom: rousing power chords, group chants, and the promise of redemption" - Boston Globe

The band kicks off a month long US tour July 17 in Cleveland, OH. A full list of tour dates is available here:
https://www.theholdsteady.com

'Stay Positive' has also received early critical kudos, with Rolling Stone, in a 4-star review, saying the album "shows their loser-outlaw storytelling and classic riff propulsion in full flower." The New York Times said it's simply "unstoppable."

The album incorporates harpsichord, banjo and talk box, while the band's gift for literate, anthemic songwriting finds a new focus lead singer Craig Finn calls "more musical... more dynamics, different instrumentation, more complex arrangements, and not always hiding behind raw volume."