Separation Sunday is the second studio album by the American indie rock band the Hold Steady, released on May 3, 2005, through Frenchkiss Records. Produced by Dean Baltulonis and Dave Gardner, the album is the last to feature founding drummer Judd Counsell, who recorded the first half of the album, and the first to feature Bobby Drake, who recorded the second half of the album. The album is also the first to feature keyboardist Franz Nicolay as a full-time member of the band.
A concept album, Separation Sunday follows the interconnected stories of several fictional characters: Craig (the narrator), Holly (short for Halleluiah), a sometimes addict, sometimes prostitute, sometimes born again Christian or Catholic (and sometimes all three simultaneously); Charlemagne, a pimp; and Gideon, a skinhead, as they travel from city to city and party to party.
Separation Sunday is lyrically dense, full of Biblical allusions, self-reference word play, and puns. Lead vocalist and lyricist Craig Finn delivered these lyrics in a distinct flavor of sprechgesang. Musically, Separation Sunday touches on elements of classic rock, with 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 forgoing choruses or refrains altogether. In a review of the album, Blender described the Hold Steady as "sound[ing] like the best bar band in the world."
I love The Hold Steady album Boys and Girls in America - You Can Make Him Like You is one of my favorite songs - but I had never listened to anything else from this group. This was an interesting listen because it seemed less polished and more shouty, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But maybe falling in love with them on their third album made this a little less for me. Doesn’t matter, glad to have them nominated because they are a fun band with interesting lyrics that never fail to engage me.
"Separation Sunday" is yet another album of indie rockers The Hold Steady. They already had two as "Boys And Girls in America" is the infamous double entry on this user list. I think that one this also the better one. Still this is another example of rock with filthy guitar licks and a singer that more of less sings with a broken voice. In one way there is nothing new and it is basic and done so many times before, but it is also performed so elemental screaming with urgence that it just crawled its way on to this user list.
I like these guys quite a bit. They've been on this list before (they're the only repeat album on the list that the mod hasn't caught yet!)
Not sure this is better than their other albums I've heard, but it's fun. I like the singer's unique vocal style.
There’s some Guided By Voices influence, or, maybe it’s more like shared DNA, with The Hold Steady, so I’m enjoying this quite a bit. It’s big, hooky guitar rock, ideally paired with some domestic lager in a crowded indie rock club.
It's fine. I liked this slightly more than the other Hold Steady album but that isn't saying much.
My personal rating: 3/5
My rating relative to the list: 3/5
Should this have been included on the original list? No.
Every time this band comes up I have to figure out again what their deal is. As a Gen X multi-decade resident of Minneapolis whatbI figure out is oh yeah, it's that post-Lifter Puller band. Solid indie/alt rock but the whole life-of-dissolution lyrics thing (particularly in this early era) wears thin for me. Demerit for egregious overuse of the phrase "hood rat".
When the singer from Counting Crows decided that the vocal stylings of Van Morrison were no longer his thing, and went deep down a musical rabbit hole consisting only of Elvis Costello and Randy Newman vocals. And told his band to listen to nothing but 70's Stones, and Big Star.
Like Springsteen tried to rip off American Idiot, but didn't think about the "concept" for more than 5 seconds. Sounds like all the other American landfill indie, other than a few recurring characters in some songs. Dull, but worthy.
If you check the user albums list, you'll see the Hold Steady's "Boys and Girls in America" TWICE (70 and 150). Obviously, user submission #410 said "no no, you've got it wrong. It should be Separation Sunday instead!" So, here we are.
This one is a lot like "Boys and Girls in America," which I described as "anthemic rock for millennials who just started drinking regularly and may or may not be developing a substance dependency." This album has a bit more grit to it though, following a story about greasy characters crashing parties and making bad decisions. The only people who still listen to the Hold Steady are people who remember where they were when the first iPod was unveiled. It's got some memorable moments and sharp lines, but nothing to make it timeless or frankly enjoyable. It's fine.
CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: Pales in comparison to it's contemporaries in the world of millennial indie rock. Let's move on.
Huge album for fans of Bruce Springsteen and listening to the drunk guy at the subway station reciting his life story.
Good for one song at a time. Entire album of having to listen to this dude chanting ancient incantations is like Chinese water torture to me. 2/5.
Read more on Wikipedia