Heaven Is Whenever
Encyclopedia
Heaven is Whenever is the fifth studio album by The Hold Steady
. It was released May 4, 2010, on Vagrant Records
in the U.S. and May 3, 2010, on Rough Trade
in Europe. The album's first single, "Hurricane J", premiered on Pitchfork Media
on March 22, 2010. Regarding the album's lyrical content, vocalist and guitarist Craig Finn
states that: "I kept saying [Stay Positive] was a record about trying to age gracefully. This record, I think actually was us aging gracefully. Some of the lyrics come from a place of a little more wisdom, being 38 and at this point having a lifetime in rock'n'roll."
Heaven is Whenever debuted at #26 on The Billboard 200 with 23,000 albums sold in its opening week thus becoming the highest charting album by The Hold Steady.
, the band "turned the back lounge of the [tour] bus into a make shift vocal booth where we could also overdub guitars. These songs gradually became the demos for the new record, and we continued writing. It allowed us to work at a pace that was dictated almost solely by our creative output. We just hit record whenever we thought we had something worth putting down."
The band subsequently entered the studio with Dean Baltulonis, producer of the band's debut album, Almost Killed Me
, and its follow-up Separation Sunday
. Vocalist and guitarist Craig Finn
states that Baltulonis is "a real close friend, so it was kind of a more relaxed, less formal way of making a record. We kind of went in for shorter sessions over a longer period of time, and we recorded a lot. There’s a fair amount of songs that didn’t make the record, and that’s always a heartbreaking thing, choosing between your favorite children."
The album does not feature former keyboard player and multi-instrumentalist Franz Nicolay
, who left the band in January 2010. Guitarist Tad Kubler and additional musician Dan Neustadt, however, both perform piano
and keyboards
on the album in a diminished role in comparison to the band's previous two releases. Craig Finn states that: "I think the biggest difference is that a lot of the songs were written with no piano or keys. So there’s a sense of space in it that I don’t think we’ve had since Separation Sunday."
The band released four songs via the internet before the album release, "Hurricane J", "Rock Problems", "The Weekenders," and "Barely Breathing". All four songs contain the band's trademark anthemic choruses and nostalgic, hyper-literate lyrics, leading some critics to doubt Finn's claim that the album will be a departure from the previous three.
The album was released one month early for Record Store Day
2010 on clear vinyl in a hand screen-printed sleeve, fewer than 600 copies were released globally. The album also included an online download code that became functional on the album's official release on May 4, 2010.
, Terence Blanchard
, Jon Brion
as key examples.
Vocalist and guitarist Craig Finn
states that the album's lyrics "speak a lot about struggle and reward. It's about embracing suffering and understanding its place in a joyful life. I think that some of the characters from old records are there, but I don't name them by name. I think it continues to examine the highs and lows that we've looked at on previous records."
The title of the album comes from a lyric in the song "We Can Get Together."
"We Can Get Together" references the British twee-pop band Heavenly
, as well as hardcore punk band Hüsker Dü
who, like The Hold Steady, had their roots in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Hold Steady
The Hold Steady is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2004. The band consists of Craig Finn , Tad Kubler , Galen Polivka , Bobby Drake , and Steve Selvidge...
. It was released May 4, 2010, on Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...
in the U.S. and May 3, 2010, on Rough Trade
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
in Europe. The album's first single, "Hurricane J", premiered on Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
on March 22, 2010. Regarding the album's lyrical content, vocalist and guitarist Craig Finn
Craig Finn
Craig Finn is an American singer and guitarist. He is best known as the front man for bands Lifter Puller and The Hold Steady. He currently lives in New York City...
states that: "I kept saying [Stay Positive] was a record about trying to age gracefully. This record, I think actually was us aging gracefully. Some of the lyrics come from a place of a little more wisdom, being 38 and at this point having a lifetime in rock'n'roll."
Heaven is Whenever debuted at #26 on The Billboard 200 with 23,000 albums sold in its opening week thus becoming the highest charting album by The Hold Steady.
Background and recording
In 2009, The Hold Steady began writing Heaven Is Whenever while touring in support of their previous album, Stay Positive. According to guitarist Tad KublerTad Kubler
Tad Kubler is an American guitarist, known for his work with Lifter Puller, Song of Zarathustra, and, most-notably, The Hold Steady. He grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.-Education:...
, the band "turned the back lounge of the [tour] bus into a make shift vocal booth where we could also overdub guitars. These songs gradually became the demos for the new record, and we continued writing. It allowed us to work at a pace that was dictated almost solely by our creative output. We just hit record whenever we thought we had something worth putting down."
The band subsequently entered the studio with Dean Baltulonis, producer of the band's debut album, Almost Killed Me
Almost Killed Me
Almost Killed Me is the debut studio album by Brooklyn-based rock band The Hold Steady, released on March 16, 2004 on Frenchkiss Records. It is considered by many to be a concept album, with several recurring themes such as near-death experiences, parties and the fictional character Charlemagne...
, and its follow-up Separation Sunday
Separation Sunday
Separation Sunday is the second studio album by The Hold Steady, released on May 3, 2005 through Frenchkiss Records. A concept album, Separation Sunday follows the stories of Craig , Holly , a sometimes addict, sometimes prostitute, sometimes born again Christian/Catholic ; Charlemagne, a pimp; and...
. Vocalist and guitarist Craig Finn
Craig Finn
Craig Finn is an American singer and guitarist. He is best known as the front man for bands Lifter Puller and The Hold Steady. He currently lives in New York City...
states that Baltulonis is "a real close friend, so it was kind of a more relaxed, less formal way of making a record. We kind of went in for shorter sessions over a longer period of time, and we recorded a lot. There’s a fair amount of songs that didn’t make the record, and that’s always a heartbreaking thing, choosing between your favorite children."
The album does not feature former keyboard player and multi-instrumentalist Franz Nicolay
Franz Nicolay
Franz Nicolay is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer currently based in Brooklyn, New York. He is perhaps best known for playing the accordion and the piano in The World/Inferno Friendship Society and playing keyboards in The Hold Steady from 2005 to 2010...
, who left the band in January 2010. Guitarist Tad Kubler and additional musician Dan Neustadt, however, both perform piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
on the album in a diminished role in comparison to the band's previous two releases. Craig Finn states that: "I think the biggest difference is that a lot of the songs were written with no piano or keys. So there’s a sense of space in it that I don’t think we’ve had since Separation Sunday."
The band released four songs via the internet before the album release, "Hurricane J", "Rock Problems", "The Weekenders," and "Barely Breathing". All four songs contain the band's trademark anthemic choruses and nostalgic, hyper-literate lyrics, leading some critics to doubt Finn's claim that the album will be a departure from the previous three.
The album was released one month early for Record Store Day
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an internationally celebrated day observed the third Saturday of April each year. Its purpose, as conceived by independent record store employee Chris Brown, is to celebrate the art of music...
2010 on clear vinyl in a hand screen-printed sleeve, fewer than 600 copies were released globally. The album also included an online download code that became functional on the album's official release on May 4, 2010.
Content and influences
Guitarist Tad Kubler has stated that "musical scores" and "cinematic soundscapes" were major influences when composing the album, listing Gustavo SantaolallaGustavo Santaolalla
Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla is an Argentine musician, film composer and producer. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score in two consecutive years, for Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Babel in 2006.-Life and career:...
, Terence Blanchard
Terence Blanchard
Terence Oliver Blanchard is an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger, and film score composer. Since he emerged on the scene in 1980 with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and then shortly thereafter with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Blanchard has been a leading artist in jazz...
, Jon Brion
Jon Brion
Jon Brion is an American rock and pop multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, composer and record producer.-Early life:...
as key examples.
Vocalist and guitarist Craig Finn
Craig Finn
Craig Finn is an American singer and guitarist. He is best known as the front man for bands Lifter Puller and The Hold Steady. He currently lives in New York City...
states that the album's lyrics "speak a lot about struggle and reward. It's about embracing suffering and understanding its place in a joyful life. I think that some of the characters from old records are there, but I don't name them by name. I think it continues to examine the highs and lows that we've looked at on previous records."
The title of the album comes from a lyric in the song "We Can Get Together."
"We Can Get Together" references the British twee-pop band Heavenly
Heavenly (British band)
Heavenly were a 1990s twee pop band, originally forming in Oxford, England in 1989. Amelia Fletcher , Mathew Fletcher , Peter Momtchiloff and Robert Pursey had all been members of Talulah Gosh, a key member of the C86 scene.-History:Heavenly debuted with the 7" single "I Fell in Love Last...
, as well as hardcore punk band Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
who, like The Hold Steady, had their roots in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Track listing
- "The Sweet Part of the City" - 4:24
- "Soft in the Center" - 3:46
- "The Weekenders" - 3:42
- "The Smidge" - 3:09
- "Rock Problems" - 3:25
- "We Can Get Together" - 4:23
- "Hurricane J" - 2:57
- "Barely Breathing" - 3:30
- "Our Whole Lives" - 3:55
- "A Slight Discomfort" - 7:05
Charts
| Charts (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
26 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
45 |
The Hold Steady
- Craig FinnCraig FinnCraig Finn is an American singer and guitarist. He is best known as the front man for bands Lifter Puller and The Hold Steady. He currently lives in New York City...
- vocals, guitar - Tad KublerTad KublerTad Kubler is an American guitarist, known for his work with Lifter Puller, Song of Zarathustra, and, most-notably, The Hold Steady. He grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.-Education:...
- guitar, keyboards, backing vocals - Galen Polivka - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Bobby Drake - drums, percussion, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Dan Neustadt - additional piano and keyboards
- Corinne Caouette - additional vocals
- Roman Kubler - additional vocals
- John ReisJohn ReisJohn Reis is an American musician, singer, guitarist, record label owner, and disc jockey. He is best known as the singer and guitarist for the rock band Rocket from the Crypt, which he formed and fronted for the entirety of its career from 1990 to 2005...
- additional guitar - Peter Hess - horns, horn arrangements
- Lloyd DeBonis - horns
Recording personnel
- Dean Baltulonis - producer, recording, mixing
- Tad KublerTad KublerTad Kubler is an American guitarist, known for his work with Lifter Puller, Song of Zarathustra, and, most-notably, The Hold Steady. He grew up in Janesville, Wisconsin and currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.-Education:...
- additional production - Dustin Miller - additional engineering
- Adam Armstrong - assistant engineer
- Shawn Kimon - assistant engineer
- Dave GardnerDave GardnerDavid Calvin Gardner is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 350 National Hockey League games for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, California Golden Seals, Cleveland Barons and Philadelphia Flyers...
- mastering
Artwork
- Christian Helms - art direction, design
- Erick Montes - design
- Andrew Yates - photography