Separation Sunday
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Separation Sunday | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||
| Studio album by The Hold Steady | |||||
| Released | May 3, 2005 | ||||
| Genre | Rock, post-punk | ||||
| Length | 42:11 | ||||
| Label | Frenchkiss Records | ||||
| Producer | Dean Baltulonis, Dave Gardner | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
|
|||||
| The Hold Steady chronology | |||||
|
|||||
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 stories of Craig (the narrator), 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, a skinhead, 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], intertextual and self 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 distinct flavor of drug-addled sing-speak.
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]
The album cover was photographed at the corner of Maspeth Avenue and Conselyea Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.[4]
The song "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" is featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Project 8.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
| # | Title | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hornets! Hornets! | 4:48 |
| 2 | Cattle and the Creeping Things | 3:47 |
| 3 | Your Little Hoodrat Friend | 3:54 |
| 4 | Banging Camp | 4:16 |
| 5 | Charlemagne in Sweatpants | 3:59 |
| 6 | Stevie Nix | 5:28 |
| 7 | Multitude of Casualties | 3:06 |
| 8 | Don't Let Me Explode | 2:23 |
| 9 | Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night | 3:20 |
| 10 | Crucifixion Cruise | 1:51 |
| 11 | How a Resurrection Really Feels | 5:32 |
[edit] Personnel
- Craig Finn – guitar, vocals
- Tad Kubler – guitar
- Galen Polivka – bass
- Franz Nicolay – keyboards
- Bobby Drake – drums
- Judd Counsell – drums
[edit] Additional players
- Nicole Wills – vocals
- Peter Hess – horns
- Tim Byrnes – horns
- Alan Ferber – horns
[edit] References
|
|||||||||||
