CD OF THE WEEK

THE HOLD STEADY Boys And Girls Of America Vagrant *****

Those seeking a trip into the real heart of America should hitch a ride with The Hold Steady. Out of Minneapolis (that great city which previously produced such mighty sounds as Husker Dü and The Replacements) and currently lodging in Brooklyn, The Hold Steady are the bar band who've hit gold with their third album, released to huge acclaim Stateside late last year and now getting a European push.

Previous albums may have signposted Craig Finn's winning way with a lyric but here, with an album title borrowed from Jack Kerouac and a spirit indebted to Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run euphoria, everything comes good. Prepare to fall hard for Finn's losers, boozers and slackers. Be it the rough-around-the-edges kid in Chillout Tent or the happy-go-lucky stoners winning big on Chips Ahoy, Finn knows their dreams and especially their demons. Caught between romance and despair, their only solace comes in bottles and pills.

Around this vivid imagery, the other Hold Steady men deliver a sound which is a delirious, authentic rush of riffs and fury. Check the opening Stuck Between Stations and marvel at just what this band can do. An album for rock'n'roll's wild and innocent ones, Boys and Girls of America is the most exhilarating, emotional and rapturous album to come this way in quite a while. Five stars? If I could give it six, I would. www.theholdsteady.com