The Hold Steady: Teeth Dreams

Sometimes the only thing to do is return to those familiar mean streets in the company of knuckle-headed hardchaws of old. The Hold Steady's first clutch of albums were vibrant wastelands of colourful characters and chronicles, but the band left that scaffolding to one side for 2010's Heaven Is Whenever , which was deemed overcooked and under-drawn. Teeth Dreams is a return to the holy ground: Craig Finn's pen joins distinctive lines once again, and the riffs and twangs that shadow them are meaty and juicy, if a tad underserved by Nick Raskulinecz's muffled production. But I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You , Runner's High and the majestic Almost Everything are the big music writ large, songs of hope, fear, despair and a strange sort of resolution. A full-throated yell from these unlikeliest of rebels. theholdsteady.net

Download: I Hope This Whole Thing Didn't Frighten You , Almost Everything