The Hold Steady have announced their eighth studio album, Open Door Policy, a follow-up to 2019’s Thrashing Thru the Passion. The new album will arrive on Feb. 19, 2021, on the band’s Positive Jams label via Thirty Tigers. In conjunction with the announcement, the group has shared the album’s lead single, “Family Farm.”
Frontman Craig Finn says of the new track:
Songs are created a bunch of different ways in The Hold Steady, but to me, our most classic songs are driving rock songs with piano breaks. “Family Farm” fits the bill. The genesis of the song was the guitar riff that starts it. Tad Kubler played a home demo for me and our producer Josh Kaufman, and we thought it was worth pursuing. At this point it had the working title “August.” We brought it to the band and Franz had the idea for the bridge. This seemed like a ‘scene change’ of sorts, and gave the song more depth and intrigue. We recorded it in December 2019 at the Clubhouse in upstate NY, just after our annual run of shows at the Brooklyn Bowl. Our friends Stuart Bogie and Jordan McLean added horns a bit later. I was personally happy to get a mention of Van Halen’s “Eruption” in the lyrics, and I appreciate it even more after Eddie Van Halen’s unfortunate recent passing. Overall, it feels like a song that will be fun to play live—uptempo, dynamic, and a chorus with shout-along potential.
Starting this Friday, The Hold Steady will livestream the 2020 edition of Massive Nights, a multi-night celebration of music and community held each year at Brooklyn Bowl. You can purchase tickets for the event (Dec. 3-5) and find out more information here.
Listen to “Family Farm” below and revisit a snippet from The Hold Steady’s 2014 Daytrotter session further down. Keep scrolling for the Open Door Policy album artwork and tracklist—the album is available for preorder here.
Open Door Policy Album Artwork:
Open Door Policy Tracklist:
01. The Feelers
02. Spices
03. Lanyards
04. Family Farm
05. Unpleasant Breakfast
06. Heavy Covenant
07. The Prior Procedure
08. Riptown
09. Me & Magdalena
10. Hanover Camera
11. Parade Days*
(* – Digital Only)
