It toook the perfect collabortor to unlock Craig Finn’s full potential as a solo artist.
The Hold Steady frontman, best known for talk-singing and his band’s beer-drenched sing-along songs, worked with The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel for his sixth, and best, solo album “Always Been.” And it takes less than four minutes (three minutes and 30 seconds to be exact) to hear Granduciel’s influence in the form of a beautiful guitar florish on openeing track “Bethany.”
The record isn’t a concept album, but it does tell a story. Where that story goes, like most of Finn’s work, is left up to the listener. Finn has always specialized in narrative songwriting and this time he focuses his craft around telling the story of a priest whose faith has left him. Opener “Bethany” tells the story of the lapsed priest through the lens of his wife. “People of Substance” is the priest talking about his recovery from depression and “Crumbs” features the priest’s sister.
Early in their career Finn and The Hold Steady were compared to Bruce Springsteen, and throughout “Always Been” Finn is at his Springsteeniest. The songs tell interesting stories with complicated characters that could stand proudly side-by-side with some of The Boss’ best. I receommend checking out “I Walk With A Cane” for proof.
Location is always a key element for Finn’s songwriting and several of the album’s 11 songs feature the unnamed protagonist and many are set in Washington state. Seattle, Spokane, Bellevue and Lake Union all get mentioned in various songs. His storytelling make the songs relatable with his worlds that feel lived-in and Granduciel’s production, which is noticably heard throughout the album (especially on “A Man Needs a Vocation” and “Luke & Leanna”) creates the perfect soundscapes for this collection of story songs. Maybe the pairing works so well because they’re both second-wave dad rock musicians, or maybe its because they’re good friends. Really, there’s no reason to question why because the results speak for themseleves.
Finn has been quite prolific the last decade, releasing three albums with his main band and five solo albums, so there’s no telling what’s next for him. Regardless whether it’s a Hold Steady album, solo record or book (he wrote a companion novel to “Always Been” called “Lousy With Ghosts”), he will have a hard time topping how he perfected his craft with this album.
