New Hold Steady - "Sequestered In Memphis"

Download: The Hold Steady - "Sequestered In Memphis"

We went koo-koo for The Hold Steady's proverbial cocoa-puffs, which, in 2006, arrived in the form of Boys And Girls In America, their third studio album in as many years. 2007 came and went with no new record from the Brooklyn-via-Minneapolis quintet, the first year that has happened since the band's inception. However, the band still toured and, on a few shows, they debuted some new songs like "Lord, I'm Discouraged" and "Joke About Jamaica" to various degrees of fanfare. Once it was announced that record number four would be called Stay Positive, and it would arrive on July 15th in the States and the day before abroad, anticipation heightened. And now, finally, we have a first single called "Sequestered In Memphis".

So how is the track? Very solid. The mid-tempo track doesn't differ too much from the band's old material, but there are many hints in the arrangements that this band is surely--but also definitely slowly--edging away from the works of their past. Like "Hot Soft Light", "Sequestered In Memphis" is about a night in the pokey with a gal who "In bar light..looked alright(but)..in daylight...looked desperate". The horn touches are very Pleased To Meet Me. All in all, a decent effort with a great sing-along refrain at the end.

Stay Positive is out July 15th.

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(Jonathan Graef)