| Separation Sunday | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 3, 2005 | |||
| Studio | Atomic Recording Co. (Brooklyn) Gigantic Studios (Manhattan) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 42:11 | |||
| Label | Frenchkiss | |||
| Producer |
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| The Hold Steady chronology | ||||
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Separation Sunday is the second studio album by the American indie rock band the Hold Steady, released on May 3, 2005, through Frenchkiss Records. 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.[1]
Separation Sunday is lyrically dense, full of Biblical allusions,[2] self-reference[3] word play, and puns.[4] Vocalist/songwriter Craig Finn typically delivers these lyrics in a distinct flavor of sprechgesang.
Musically, Separation Sunday touches on elements of Classic rock: 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 foregoing 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."[5]
The album cover was photographed at the corner of Maspeth Avenue and Conselyea Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.[6]
The song "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" was featured on the video game Tony Hawk's Project 8.
- ^ All three characters made appearances on the band's previous album, Almost Killed Me, and reappear in "First Night", and "Same Kooks" on Boys and Girls in America, and then again in "Ask Her For Adderall", a bonus track from Stay Positive.
- ^ NPR : 'Cattle and the Creeping Things' by The Hold Steady
- ^ In "Don't Let Me Explode," when Holly is asked about Charlemagne, "she just smiled all polite-like and said something vague"; in Almost Killed Me's closing track, "Killer Parties," the narrator instructs listeners, "If they ask about Charlemagne/Be polite, say something vague"
- ^ In "Stevie Nix": "She got screwed up by religion/she got screwed by soccer players"
- ^ The Hold Steady: Separation Sunday (2005): Reviews
- ^ Gridskipper: New York City Album Covers[permanent dead link]