Is it possible for a song to immediately take you to specific time and place? I’d normally say “no”, but after listening to the Hold Steady’s “Constructive Summer”, I dare you to tell me that you’re not at a summer barbeque, at the beach, driving down an freeway with the top down or at a Jimmy Buffet concert seizing in the glory of the summer. This roaring summer anthem has the recipe of a classic summer song as it spews out of the speakers with a lashing drum beat and a spastic piano attack while Craig Finn mumbles ever so poetically about dreams, desires and determination and how his band sings “sing-a-long songs” and how “we can all be something bigger”; ultimately it’s a delicacy so tempting you can’t deny it.The Hold Steady is every bit as good as any band on the road at this moment. If you’re fortunate enough to see them live, you’ll walk away a believer. Their records while high on energy take a few listens to digest and are better appreciated after seeing them live, but there was something about this lousy MP3 (a friend sent me months ago) that immediately made me smile. Everyone is always talking about a “new band” or a “new sound” they are looking for. In my opinion, I feel that people are looking so hard for this “new” thing that they’re bound to be disappointed when it’s not the next “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or “Welcome To The Jungle”. Music has a grasp on people from a young age, but at some point in most people’s existence, unlike films or books, their musical tastes stop evolving. Why this is, I am not sure. But it explains why the Rolling Stones can sell a few million concert tickets from $100-$400 and only sell a few hundred thousand copies of their latest album which is priced at $10. People largely love the music they hear from their high school and college years and everything that follows…they don’t want to be bothered with.
Eventually artists evolve, grow up, break up or venture down different sonic paths not in tune with those who bought their records by the boatloads. A new album by an established artist is not an easy sell and even though it may sell, people don’t necessarily listen to it, just look at the latest release by the Eagles, can you really tell me about any of the 28-songs on that album? The Hold Steady’s “Constructive Summer” is an anomaly to all of this; a perfect a catchy raucous rocker imbedded in your DNA from the first listen. While the Hold Steady is a rambunctious and exuberant band who has grown up on a steady diet of no-nonsense rock n’ roll, they’re so retro that I’ve had issues converting some friends…and then there are people who say that the band is such a throw back, it hurts them. My answer is “who cares”, is music penetrates your soul, who cares if it takes cues from the past? One listen to “Constructive Summer” and I can guarantee you you’ll be hooked; the opening reverberating guitar riff and mean Meat Loaf piano jamming accentuates the atmosphere, while the rhythm section grooves faster than a Randy Johnson fastball. It is a jolt of nostalgia so potent I dare you not to step up and take notice as it mines territory between Chuck Berry, the Jam and Bruce Springsteen.
“Constructive Summer” is a joyous voyage of optimism. The chorus echoes of a gathering and determination to dream bigger than ever before…”this summer”. Back when I was in school, summer was the promised land; working jobs, hanging out, driving around and experiencing love and heartbreak seemed to be accentuated ten-fold by the climate and aura. Summer romances are much more visceral than winter ones. More songs have been written about bikinis than overcoats and I don’t think there is any mystery why. I’d love to tell you I love the rest of their latest album Stay Positive but finding it for a reasonable price has been difficult (none of the five Best Buy’s I visited had it the week it was on sale). Regardless, “Constructive Summer” paints a portrait as intoxicating as girls in their summer clothes and that’s reason enough to buy Stay Positive. As the final days of summer fade away and the leaves begin to change color, the optimism, catchiness and innocence of “Constructive Summer” will play on this fall, winter, spring and every summer for the rest of my life; can you ask for anything more from a song?
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
