User Score
Universal acclaim- based on 42 Ratings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 39 out of 42
-
Mixed: 0 out of 42
-
Negative: 3 out of 42
Review this album
-
-
Please sign in or create an account before writing a review.
-
-
Submit
-
Check Spelling
- User score
- By date
- Most helpful
-
VellocetMay 7, 2005spectacular
-
-
TheBigCrunchJan 6, 2006Best album of 2005, and among the five or so best albums of the decade so far.
-
-
ChaseHAug 19, 2006A fantastically unique epic.
-
-
robMay 7, 2005"Your Little Hoodrat Friend" is one of the best songs I've heard in 2005. It gets a little too 70's rockish for my taste at times, but the whole album is very listenable with 5 or 6 very good songs.
-
-
TimTMay 8, 2005
-
-
DrunkenMasterJun 8, 2005This is cathartic, literate rock at its finest. I was blown away from the first listen and it hasn't left my stereo since. The characters --mainly Holly and Charlemagne -- are finely drawn and detailed in a way that exposes radio-ready rock as idiocy. The album has the story arc of a novel, with all the heartbreak.
-
-
DavidBJul 10, 2005Album of the year so far. Great lyrics and music. Fantastic.
-
-
ChrisKMay 10, 2005Every song sounds great, better with beer, and genius with a beer and headphones on (in the sun, if you want). Won't be a better rock album this year.
-
-
HNiceMay 12, 2005holy crap this is good -- and not nice good, more like if springsteen was in mclusky good.
-
-
DougDMay 20, 2005This is IT! Run don't walk to get it.
-
-
StevenRMay 9, 2005nearly perfect.
-
-
JoeDJun 18, 2005gret music great lyrics lots of fun!
-
-
FishyBootyJul 15, 2005Incredible! I can't get this out of my cd player and I can't get out of my head either. The story is great. If you drank every time Finn says "high" you'd be blacked out drunk by the end of this album. You would think thats a bad thing, but it works for this album. Musically and lyrically very strong.
-
-
mattaJul 5, 2005Individually, each song is an amazing display of angst-ridden rock and roll, and, for the most part I like Craig Finn's unique style of singing, but it definetely gets a little monotonous at times. Nonetheless, it's unique and fresh, especially compared to alot of the other rock/indie rock bands out there right now.
-
-
ChadSJul 8, 2005
-
-
matthewcJan 2, 2006If Elvis Costello happened to produce early AC/DC. Fantastic rock album!
-
-
ThomasDFeb 20, 2007
-
-
TerrenceOJul 21, 2005
-
-
YLEAug 15, 2005
-
-
Sep 25, 2015It's been a decade since Separation Sunday was first released. I am convinced it's a modern classic.
There's a quotable lyric every other line, every song is perfectly structured, and the album works as a cohesive whole. Saying this Separation Sunday has staying power would be a massive understatement.
Awards & Rankings
-
While far from perfect, The Hold Steady's sloppy take on classic rock is actually quite refreshing and much more fun than most current indie rock and British post-punk revival wankery.
-
The group sounds a bit like Guided By Voices at times, only a Guided By Voices that want to kick your sorry can up and down the length of the bar.
-
While [Finn's] odd and humorous rants are essentially compelling, they wouldn't be half as engrossing if his backing group... didn't smack up such a glorious din, scabrous punk rock swagger dolled up with classic hard rock power chords.