The Hold Steady

The Hold Steady didn't sound like any other band who emerged from Brooklyn in the 2000s, or practically anywhere else in the indie rock community for that matter. A band who upheld the values and integrity of indie and punk rock, the Hold Steady were not afraid to also embrace rock classicism, fusing the bar band vigor of the Replacements with the epic scale musical backdrops of Bruce Springsteen while vocalist Craig Finn spilled out stories that were as impassioned as they were unpretentiously literate. Though they never had a massive hit, they maintained a fervently dedicated following who stuck with the group through lineup changes and hiatuses. The group's beery, anthemic style appeared fully formed on their debut album, 2004's Almost Killed Me, they refined their music and their lyrical stance to a new level on 2006's Boys and Girls in America, they increased their guitar firepower while taking on a more ambitious approach on 2014's Teeth Dreams, and they explored an alienated culture with near-operatic sweep on 2021's Open Door Policy.