Separation Sunday

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Professional reviews
Separation Sunday

Studio album by The Hold Steady
Released	May 3, 2005
Genre	Rock, Post-punk
Length	42:11
Label	Frenchkiss Records
Producer(s)	Dean Baltulonis & Dave Gardner
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A-) link Pitchfork Media (8.7/10) link
The Hold Steady chronology
Almost Killed Me (2004)	Separation Sunday (2005)	Boys and Girls in America (2006)

Separation Sunday is an album released by The Hold Steady on May 3, 2005 on Frenchkiss Records. It has been well received by critics, earning an 8.7 on Pitchfork. It ranked number eight on the 2005 Pazz & Jop critic's poll [1] and was named the number ten album of the year by Spin.

A loose concept album, Separation Sunday follows the separate but overlapping stories of Holly (a/k/a Halleluiah), a sometimes addict, sometimes prostitute, sometimes born again Christian/Catholic (and sometimes all three simultaneously); Charlemagne, a pimp; and Gideon as they travel from city to city and party to party. (All three characters made appearances on the band's previous album, Almost Killed Me, and reappear in "First Night", and "Same Kooks" on Boys and Girls in America.)

Separation Sunday is lyrically dense, full of Biblical allusions[2], internal references (e.g., in "Don't Let Me Explode," when Holly is asked about Charlemagne, "she just smiled all polite-like and said something vague"; in Almost Killed Me's closing track, "Killer Parties," the narrator instructs listeners, "If they ask about Charlemagne/Be polite, say something vague"), word play, and puns ("Stevie Nix": "She got screwed up by religion/she got screwed by soccer players"). Vocalist/songwriter Craig Finn typically delivers these lyrics in a half sung/half spoken manner.

Musically, Separation Sunday engages Classic Rock motifs -- guitar solos, riff-based structures, use of piano and organ, and guitar harmony. Structurally, however, most songs eschew the standard "verse-chorus-verse" song structure, frequently foregoing choruses or refrains all together. Separation Sunday's tight musicianship and muscular sound led Blender to describe The Hold Steady as "sound[ing] like the best bar band in the world."[3]