bobfrombob Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 The Hold Steady recently put the finishing touches on ‘Heaven Is Whenever,’ their new album set for release May 4th on Vagrant Records and May 3rd on Rough Trade in the UK and EU. The album was produced by Dean Baltulonis, who engineered the band’s ‘Almost Killed Me’ and produced ‘Separation Sunday,’ and was recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios in Upstate NY and Wild Arctic Studios in Queens, NY, with mixing also happening at Wild Arctic. Singer Craig Finn says ’Heaven Is Whenever’ is about “embracing suffering and finding reward in our everyday lives.” Piano and keys take a backseat to guitar on the new record, which also gets production help from guitarist Tad Kubler. Recorded in several smaller sessions spread out over a long period of time, the songs on ‘Heaven Is Whenever’ received the benefit of being tested on the band’s recent tours. As Finn says this allowed them to “see what was working and what wasn’t. I believe this record benefits from us working at a more deliberate pace.” The tracklisting for Heaven Is Whenever is: 1 The Sweet Part of the City2 Soft in the Center3 The Weekenders4 The Smidge5 Rock Problems6 We Can Get Together7 Hurricane J8 Barely Breathing9 Our Whole Lives10 A Slight Discomfort See The Hold Steady perform songs from Heaven Is Whenever and more at the dates below: April 2nd Ardsley, NY LIFE the place to be April 3rd New Haven, CT Toad's Place April 5th South Burlington, VT Higher Ground April 6th Northampton, MA Pearl Street April 7th Albany, NY Norris Auditorium April 8th Woodstock, NY Bearsville Theater April 9th Jermyn, PA Eleanor Rigby's April 10th Syracuse, NY The Westcott Theater April 12th Rochester, NY The Club at Water Street Music Hall April 13th Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom April 14th Pittsburgh, PA Diesel Club Lounge April 15th Morgantown, WV 123 Pleasant St. April 16th Harrisburg, PA Appalachian Brewing Company May 5th Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre May 6th San Francisco, CA The Fillmore May 29th George, WA Sasquatch June 12th Newport, Isle of Wight Isle of Wight Festival June 14th Paris, FR Fleche D'Or June 21st Amsterdam, NL Melkeg June 22nd London. UK HMV Forum Jun 26th Manchester, UK Academy 2 For more information and tickets please visit http://www.theholdsteady.com Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 the new record comes out of my b-day! Sweet! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bleedorange Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 The Hold Steady recently put the finishing touches on ‘Heaven Is Whenever,’ their new album set for release May 4th on Vagrant Records and May 3rd on Rough Trade in the UK and EU. The album was produced by Dean Baltulonis, who engineered the band’s ‘Almost Killed Me’ and produced ‘Separation Sunday,’ and was recorded at Dreamland Recording Studios in Upstate NY and Wild Arctic Studios in Queens, NY, with mixing also happening at Wild Arctic. Singer Craig Finn says ’Heaven Is Whenever’ is about “embracing suffering and finding reward in our everyday lives.” Piano and keys take a backseat to guitar on the new record, which also gets production help from guitarist Tad Kubler. Recorded in several smaller sessions spread out over a long period of time, the songs on ‘Heaven Is Whenever’ received the benefit of being tested on the band’s recent tours. As Finn says this allowed them to “see what was working and what wasn’t. I believe this record benefits from us working at a more deliberate pace.” Yay! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 thank god. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 Gotta appreciate a band that puts out an album in 04, 05, 06 and 08 and doesn't release a clunker among them. Just a good old fashioned rock and roll band without any bullshit. Fantastic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cre618 Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Digging the new artwork: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
deepseacatfish Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Reminds me a lot of:(Low-Trust) Definitely looking forward to this, though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bsr8j Posted March 14, 2010 Share Posted March 14, 2010 Digging the new artwork: That feels like the perfect cover for a Hold Steady album, built on their whole mythos of band-audience communion. I dig it, too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bsr8j Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 Awesome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 first taste of the new Hold Steady record! listen to Hurricane J: http://pitchfork.com/news/38234-premiere-hold-steady-hurricane-j/ it's pretty kickass Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 first taste of the new Hold Steady record! listen to Hurricane J: http://pitchfork.com/news/38234-premiere-hold-steady-hurricane-j/ it's pretty kickass listening now. awesome! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 first taste of the new Hold Steady record! listen to Hurricane J: http://pitchfork.com/news/38234-premiere-hold-steady-hurricane-j/ it's pretty kickass A lot of "Stay Positive" on that, but somehow more subdued. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bsr8j Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 first taste of the new Hold Steady record! listen to Hurricane J: http://pitchfork.com/news/38234-premiere-hold-steady-hurricane-j/ it's pretty kickass Righteous. This only makes me more excited for May 2010, the greatest month for new releases in the history of the world (or at least the greatest month for new releases for May...in 2010). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
explodo Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 What's up with the vocals? Not a fan of Craig on the verses. The chorus sounds like typical Hold Steady. I was hoping for something a little less poppy/anthemic (Almost Killed Me style), since this is what pre-release interviews have hinted at, but no dice. Sounds like a Stay Positive b-side, which, while not bad, is not good either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 What's up with the vocals? Not a fan of Craig on the verses. The chorus sounds like typical Hold Steady. I was hoping for something a little less poppy/anthemic (Almost Killed Me style), since this is what pre-release interviews have hinted at, but no dice. Sounds like a Stay Positive b-side, which, while not bad, is not good either.i'm guessing it's more anthemic/poppy as it's the first single...i like it more than a lot of stuff on Stay Positive :/ as for the vocals... on the chorus i actually think it's some of Craig's more mature and in-key singing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ih8music Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share Posted March 23, 2010 Finn's vocals/style are still fingernails-on-a-chalkboard for me... oh well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pmancini100 Posted March 23, 2010 Share Posted March 23, 2010 i think the new song is great, its less "slapped-actress-ish," which is what i think they meant in those interviews. its similar, but seems fresh. i cant wait for the new record Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SarahC Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 i am sooooo excited for the new record!!! the new song rocks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 another new song 'Rock Problems' http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/03/hold_steady.html the guitar tone is a bit limp but that's just personal prefernce.neither song so far blows me away, but i dig 'em both a good amount. Craig's voice sounds better than ever, apparently his singing lessons are starting to pay off! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjpuczko Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 digging the main guitar riff on that song. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
explodo Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Much better than Hurricane, but still not amazing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cre618 Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Much better than Hurricane, but still not amazing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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