Separation Sunday

Separation Sunday is the second studio album by the American indie rock band The Hold Steady, released on May 3, 2005, through Frenchkiss Records. A concept album, Separation Sunday follows the interconnected stories of several fictional characters: Craig (the narrator), Holly (short for Halleluiah), a sometimes addict, sometimes prostitute, sometimes born again Christian or Catholic (and sometimes all three simultaneously); Charlemagne, a pimp; and Gideon, a skinhead, as they travel from city to city and party to party.[1]

Separation Sunday
Studio album by
The Hold Steady
ReleasedMay 3, 2005 (2005-05-03)
StudioAtomic Recording Co. (Brooklyn)
Gigantic Studios (Manhattan)
Genre
Length42:11
LabelFrenchkiss
Producer
  • Dean Baltulonis
  • Dave Gardner
The Hold Steady chronology
Almost Killed Me
(2004)		 Separation Sunday
(2005)		 Boys and Girls in America
(2006)

Separation Sunday is lyrically dense, full of Biblical allusions,[2] self-reference[3] word play, and puns.[4] Vocalist/songwriter Craig Finn typically delivers these lyrics in a distinct flavor of sprechgesang.

Musically, Separation Sunday touches on elements of Classic rock: guitar solos, riff-based structures, use of piano and organ, and guitar harmony. Structurally, however, most songs eschew the standard verse-chorus-verse song structure, frequently foregoing choruses or refrains altogether. In a review of the album, Blender described The Hold Steady as "sound[ing] like the best bar band in the world."[5]

The album cover was photographed at the corner of Maspeth Avenue and Conselyea Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.[6]

The song "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" was featured on the video game Tony Hawk's Project 8.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Blender[9]
Chicago Sun-Times[10]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[11]
The Guardian[12]
NME8/10[13]
Pitchfork8.7/10[14]
Rolling Stone[15]
Uncut[16]
The Village VoiceA−[17]

The album received an 8.7 on Pitchfork, and ranked at number eight on the 2005 Pazz & Jop critic's poll.[18] The album was named the number ten album of the year by Spin. Punknews.org ranked the album at number 18 on their list of the year's 20 best releases.[19]

Track listing

All songs written by Craig Finn and Tad Kubler, except where noted.

  1. "Hornets! Hornets!" – 4:48
  2. "Cattle and the Creeping Things" – 3:47
  3. "Your Little Hoodrat Friend" – 3:54
  4. "Banging Camp" – 4:16
  5. "Charlemagne in Sweatpants" – 3:59
  6. "Stevie Nix" (Finn, Kubler, Galen Polivka) – 5:28
  7. "Multitude of Casualties" – 3:06
  8. "Don't Let Me Explode" (Finn, Franz Nicolay) – 2:23
  9. "Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night" (Finn, Kubler, Nicolay) – 3:20
  10. "Crucifixion Cruise" – 1:51
  11. "How a Resurrection Really Feels" – 5:32

2016 CD reissue bonus tracks
  1. "212-Margarita" – 3:58
  2. "The Most Important Thing" – 3:57
  3. "Cattle and the Creeping Things" (demo) – 3:50
  4. "Charlemagne in Sweatpants" (demo) – 3:58
  5. "Crucifixion Cruise" (guitar demo) – 1:38
  6. "Crucifixion Cruise" (piano demo) – 1:46

Personnel

The Hold Steady
  • Craig Finn – lead vocals, guitar
  • Tad Kubler – guitar
  • Galen Polivka – bass guitar
  • Franz Nicolay – keyboards
  • Judd Counsell – drums (1-4, 11)
  • Bobby Drake – drums (5-10)

Additional musicians
  • Nicole Wills – vocals
  • Peter Hess – horns
  • Tim Byrnes – horns
  • Alan Ferber – horns

Technical
  • Dean Baltulonis – producer, engineer, mixing
  • Dave Gardner – producer, engineer, mixing, mastering
  • Tad Kubler – design, layout
  • Seth Jabour – design, layout

References
  1. All three characters made appearances on the band's previous album, Almost Killed Me, and reappear in "First Night", and "Same Kooks" on Boys and Girls in America, and then again in "Ask Her For Adderall", a bonus track from Stay Positive.
  2. NPR : 'Cattle and the Creeping Things' by The Hold Steady
  3. In "Don't Let Me Explode," when Holly is asked about Charlemagne, "she just smiled all polite-like and said something vague"; in Almost Killed Me's closing track, "Killer Parties," the narrator instructs listeners, "If they ask about Charlemagne/Be polite, say something vague"
  4. In "Stevie Nix": "She got screwed up by religion/she got screwed by soccer players"
  5. The Hold Steady: Separation Sunday (2005): Reviews
  6. Gridskipper: New York City Album Covers
  7. "Reviews for Separation Sunday by The Hold Steady". Metacritic. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  8. Sendra, Tim. "Separation Sunday – The Hold Steady". AllMusic. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  9. "The Hold Steady: Separation Sunday". Blender (36): 122. May 2005.
  10. Lindall, Anders Smith (May 29, 2005). "The Hold Steady, 'Separation Sunday' (Frenchkiss)". Chicago Sun-Times.
  11. Wood, Mikael (May 30, 2005). "Separation Sunday". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  12. Simpson, Dave (May 4, 2007). "The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday". The Guardian. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  13. Jam, James (May 23, 2007). "The Hold Steady: Almost Killed Me / Separation Sunday". NME.
  14. Breihan, Tom (May 5, 2005). "The Hold Steady: Separation Sunday". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  15. Hoard, Christian (May 19, 2005). "Separation Sunday". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  16. Empire, Kitty (June 2007). "The Hold Steady: Almost Killed Me / Separation Sunday". Uncut (121): 110.
  17. Christgau, Robert (May 17, 2005). "Consumer Guide: Beguilement and Rage". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  18. Robert Christgau: Pazz & Jop 2005: Critics Poll
  19. "Best of 2005: Punknews.org (2005)". Punknews.org. January 6, 2006. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
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