The Hold Steady’s “Heaven is Whenever” – The Weekend Review

By Chris Moore:

RATING: 4 / 5 stars

The Hold Steady: Keeping riff-driven rock songs relevant since 2004.

To be fair, I’ve only heard one album — 2010’s Heaven is Whenever — but the Hold Steady certainly make a strong case for deserving that aforementioned title on the merits of this most recent release alone. More to the point, the question foremost on my mind as I ran through my second, third, and on through to my tenth listens to this album (in a four day span) was: how has this band managed to release four albums that I’ve never heard of?

Oh, right… Rock music doesn’t “sell” like it used to. I forgot for a moment there.

Honestly, I was nonplussed for much of my first listen. I had put the album on low while talking in the car; what I did hear sounded like the middle-of-the-road derivative drivel that passes for contemporary popular “rock” music.

I’m not name-dropping here, but you can imagine…

When I finally had the mind to crank the volume up, I very clearly heard a band that is not attempting to be something they aren’t. Sure, there are inflections of the Counting Crows and Tom Petty as well as Weezer and the occasional hats-off nod to hip hop dispersed throughout this record, yet although I feel like I should be able to draw more concrete observations in the vein of “The Hold Steady sound like _______”…

Well, I haven’t gotten that far.

And why would I want to? Reviewers — myself included — have a way of breaking down albums and songs to such a degree that, once dismantled, they simply can’t be put back together and enjoyed.

The Hold Steady's

The Hold Steady's "Heaven is Whenever" (2010)

The defining feature of Heaven is Whenever is the tension between the obvious and the subtle, the directly stated and the implied. Namely, these are not the simple, superficial songs that they may appear to be to the casual listener. And it is truly refreshing to read through the lyrics booklet without losing respect for the music.

Kiran Soderqvist of Sputnik Music nails their tone when he writes that frontman Craig Finn “has a way with words and much of their music hints at something much more calculated than bar-light jamming.”

On this record, the lyrics accomplish much of the hinting.

If you’re listening for a Bob Dylan, or even a Jakob Dylan, then you’re liable to be disappointed. But if you’re drawn to the sorts of lines and phrases that will leave you imagining what they might refer to (“There was that whole weird thing with the horses” or “There were a couple pretty crass propositions…” in “The Weekenders”), if you like your allusions served often and served bluntly (“Don’t it suck about the succubi?” in “A Slight Discomfort”), if you’re fond of your metaphors (“I’m from a place with lots of lakes. But sometimes they get soft in the center. And the center is a dangerous place…” in “Soft in the Center”), and if you fancy wordplay (“Jock Jills go for jumping Jacks” in “Our Whole Lives”), then you won’t be disappointed.

Topically, the album is thought-provoking if you’ll let it be, though it’s vague enough — and paced quickly enough — that you’ll never have to think to enjoy these songs.

Upon further consideration, there is more beneath the surface. To begin with, heaven may be the most oft-used word on this record, employed as a metaphor for a beautiful, peaceful relationship in “We Can Get Together,” the lyrics of which provided the album title. Earlier, heaven is what the situation in “The Smidge” feels like, and “Heaven Tonight” makes leaving a party feel “really right” in “Rock Problems.” Later, heaven is the topic for discussions about “hypotheticals” in the superb lead-off single “Hurricane J.”

Not surprisingly, religious iconology oozes forth throughout, as Finn sings about praying on numerous occasions, saints are mentioned repeatedly (specifically, as well as figuratively, as in “Hurricane J” when Jesse’s parents “…didn’t name her for a saint. They named her for a storm”), the Catholic confessional is alluded to in “Our Whole Lives,” and the 1980 Jim Carroll band record Catholic Boy is referenced. Clearly, Heaven is Whenever turns to this thematic underpinning, both seriously and dismissively, and whether intended or not, the album provides a wealth of provocative hooks for the listener.

This is not to say that the Hold Steady’s latest release is a spiritual record or some sort of religious statement. There are many other similarly provocative statements here, such as the advice in “Soft in the Center” that “You can’t get every girl. You’ll get the ones you love the best. You won’t get every girl. You’ll love the ones you get the best. Kid, you can’t kiss every girl…” Every young man confronts this conflict in his programming, that eternal struggle between man as the primitive hunter/gatherer driven by instinct/attraction, and man as the productive member of a society that values monogamy and stability.

There are lighter connections to be made here, as well. For instance, speaking as a life-long dork and sometimes-nerd, I had a visceral reaction to the refrain in “Our Whole Lives” that finds Finn proclaiming, “We’re good guys, but we can’t be good every night. We’re good guys, but we can’t be good our whole lives.”

If you really listen, Heaven is Whenever has much to offer up both lyrically and musically. If you’d rather not, then you’ll still find this album a fun rock record.

And, as a result, I’m left wondering why I didn’t start listening four albums ago.

The Laptop Sessions (Cover Music Video Blog) is Front Page News!!

“Masters of the Internet”

By Jesse J. Stanley

Record-Journal Staff
Meriden – Local band Masters of the Universe is branching out into another universe lately – the Internet – with an interesting concept they’ve named Laptop Sessions.

Chris Moore, 23, of Meriden; Jim Fusco, 24, of Meriden; Jeff Copperthite, 27, of Fairfield; and Mike Fusco, 22, of Wallingford have been making music together for two years. This venture onto the web is something none of them have seen anyone else do to such a level.

“It’s a mix between hobby and fun,” said Chris Moore, band member. “It is a melding between our original music and covers everyone knows.”

“The concept is pretty simple. Each member of the band will record and post a cover song onto the site once every day. Their goal is to post one song per day for the entire year.

“We’re not going to miss a day, God help us,” said Jim Fusco, band member. “We made a commitment to ourselves more than anything.”

“There have been a few close calls, though,” Fusco said. “Every time we get a little frustrated, we say, ‘whose idea was this?”

Usually after that, the band shoots Moore a few dirty looks; but they have managed not to miss a post.

The exposure that Laptop Sessions has brought it has been very positive for the band.

“In total, we have more than 500 subscribers between us,” Fusco said. “They get updates every time we post something.”

The band members’ sessions have resulted in thousands of YouTube views every day, more traffic to their Web site, and an interest in their original music, as well.

“We like to think that if they like the music we like, that they’ll also like the kind of music we play on our own, too,” Fusco said.

“We’ve noticed that people are also commenting on our original works we are posting, too,” Moore said. “It is always a huge joy to hear a person comment on a song I’ve written.”

One piece of recognition was a big deal to Fusco.

“Brian Wilson, of the Beach Boys, has a permanent link on his official Web site to my cover of one of his songs,” Fusco said. “For me that was huge.”

They’ve also been coming up on Internet searches more frequently.

“I did a search the other day for a cover song and we came up as the first link in that search,” Fusco said. “It is exciting to see all this work come to fruition.”

It is also a way to practice their skills as musicians.

“We have grown as musicians as a result,” Moore said. “It is good for honing my skill.”

“We used to only play originals, but Laptop Sessions has given us more than 100 new songs we can play,” Fusco said.

With posting a new cover every day for an entire year, one might think the band might run out of material to cover.

“There’s no end in sight,” Fusco said. “My iTunes collection has more than 11,000 songs in it; we are huge music fans and there are a lot of choices.”

Already they have covered music from more than 50 bands.

All of this work they do from the comfort of their own home – or at least, the comfort of Fusco’s own home – with a recording studio in Fusco’s basement in Meriden.

“We have a recording studio set up with all the trappings of an amateur professional studio,” Moore said. “What we really love doing is making music.”

They are hoping to help other local musicians have a recording space in the future.

Masters of the Universe has played at the main stage of the Webster and locally at George’s II and Testa’s. You can tune in every day for a new update at www.guitarbucketlist.com.

“People can go there every day and see something new,” Fusco said.