Although since late 2017 The Hold Steady have been releasing two song singles or dropping live nuggets, we have not had a proper full-length studio album from the band since 2014’s Teeth Dreams. That five year wait will come to an end on August 16th with the release of their seventh album, Thrashing Thru The Passion.
The album’s latest single is Thrashing Thru The Passion‘s opening track, “Denver Haircut.” On previous opening tracks, we have gotten references to Jack Kerouac, Iggy Pop, Joe Strummer, all of whom seem to fit into the Hold Steady’s iconic narrative. On “Denver Haircut,” we get several references to Metallica? Lines like “Liberty and Justice into Master of Puppets” and “The pilot kinda looked like Kirk Hammett,” seem simultaneously not very and incredibly Hold Steady-y at the same time. It makes me want to brush up on my 80s/90s metal just to be well versed incase they try to slip a Megadeth or Iron Maiden reference by me.
