Our October chat with Craig Finn holds up as one of our favorite interviews of 2022. But a new year brings new music and even newer moods as Finn’s indie rock stalwarts The Hold Steady have returned today (January 4) with a rollicking new tune called “Sideways Skull.” The barnstorming single arrives with word of the band’s ninth studio album, The Price of Progress, set to surface March 31 via The Hold Steady’s own Positive Jams label via Thirty Tigers.
“’Sideways Skull’ is a rocking song about rock and rollers,” says Finn. “In this case, they’ve been taken out of the game for a bit of rest, but still keep their dreams alive as they discuss past glories. We loved the big sound of this when Tad Kubler brought it into the band, and the studio performance of it felt especially joyful. We’re happy to put this forth as a first look at The Price of Progress, and the album’s title even comes from this song.”
Come for the “Sideways Skull,” stay for the sweet New Hampshire shoutout in the lyrics. That’s nothing we should take for granite.