Boys And Girls In America
by The Hold Steady
  • Record Label: Vagrant
  • Release Date: Oct 3, 2006
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 109 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 95 out of 109
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 109
  3. Negative: 6 out of 109

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  1. Andy
    Oct 4, 2006
    10
    The Hold Steady get better and better with each album release. Yeah, our government is in turmoil and there's a war going on an ocean away, but lets leave that to the hundreds of other bands and country singers suck that well dry. This album proves that bands can revel in the American landscape without being too political or pious. It's a breath of fresh air in a music scene The Hold Steady get better and better with each album release. Yeah, our government is in turmoil and there's a war going on an ocean away, but lets leave that to the hundreds of other bands and country singers suck that well dry. This album proves that bands can revel in the American landscape without being too political or pious. It's a breath of fresh air in a music scene that's gone stale and dry with trite political commentary. No one's saying that having a political conscience isn't important, but when the weekend comes round, the kids are looking to party and have a good time. Finally, a band and an album that gets it right.… Expand
  2. SaidS
    Oct 6, 2006
    10
    They've worked out the bugs and are truly, truly rocking. Don't listen to the lyrics or you'll cry hot tears.
  3. AnthonyO
    Jan 8, 2007
    10
    If you don't like this album, you're not very smart.
  4. paulg
    Mar 1, 2007
    10
    THS rock and they roll. lyrics that tell a story. allusions, double meanings, etc... Finally.
  5. MichaelF
    Oct 19, 2006
    10
    This is the record of the year. It's everything.
  6. anna
    Dec 20, 2006
    10
    concept albums are tough to pull off, but finn does it with a narrow focus and a big sound.
  7. KyleB
    Oct 2, 2006
    10
    Already I think it might be my all time favourite.
  8. Joe
    Oct 31, 2006
    10
    Craig Finn and his band capture the actions and feelings of youth in 2006 better than bands half his age. This album should be played at every party on ever college campus across the country.
  9. DavidD
    Oct 30, 2006
    10
    A masterpiece...never have i heard an album that showcases the beauty of youth so well. The album is about being young and having the whole world in front of you. Its also about living as though you never knew you did.
  10. cwb
    Oct 4, 2006
    10
    SICK. probably my album of the year, on one listen...
  11. JimR
    Apr 13, 2007
    10
    "It started recreatonal, it ended kind of medical." Fantastic old school sound, great lyrics.
  12. WayneW.
    Jan 1, 2008
    10
    The lyrics are fantastic, but the amazing thing about this album is how it truly rocks. I haven't heard an album rock like this in a long long time. You can compare Finn to Springsteen if you want. But this album is Springsteen on crack!
  13. Mike
    Oct 17, 2006
    10
    The best, most effective album of the year, no question. Everyone will talk about the lyrics, but the secret weapon here is the keyboards, adding just the right touches in all the right places.
  14. DanH
    Dec 10, 2006
    10
    (9.5) Amazing album, one of the best of the year! Recommended to anyone who likes a good rock record and isn't turned off by numerous drug and sex references. I had never heard of the Hold Steady previously but now am a huge fan. Try it, you'll like it.
  15. JasonC
    Oct 24, 2006
    10
    Great album. Yeah, the lyrics are amazing and it'll make you think of Springsteen, but without being derivative. Its the perfect album to listen to you when you're hanging out drinking with a bunch of friends.
  16. IainM
    Oct 6, 2006
    10
    Classic album, all the right guitar hooks and lyrics that stick with you for days. Forget the bar band labels and pick up this album.
  17. ScottMcB
    Oct 8, 2006
    10
    The best rock record you'll hear all year.
  18. KennyM
    Apr 13, 2007
    10
    One of the best rock albums, not only of 2006, but of the last decade. A classic.
  19. othos
    Apr 16, 2007
    10
    I'm gonna take a wild stab and guess that reviewer Sam E. is between 18-25. That's not his fault. (Obviously) having no CDs in his collection recorded before 2000...is. THS fuses the best of Thin Lizzy/Asbury Park-era Springsteen with the halcyon days of Minneapolis punk (Replacements, Husker Du) to produce modern music utterly unlike anything else I have heard of late. In the I'm gonna take a wild stab and guess that reviewer Sam E. is between 18-25. That's not his fault. (Obviously) having no CDs in his collection recorded before 2000...is. THS fuses the best of Thin Lizzy/Asbury Park-era Springsteen with the halcyon days of Minneapolis punk (Replacements, Husker Du) to produce modern music utterly unlike anything else I have heard of late. In the cookie-cutter world of current alt-rock, unique apparently equals crap.… Expand
  20. PhilipJ
    May 27, 2007
    10
    This happens to be one of the best rock and roll records of the last decade. The characters are the kids I grew up with and the stories are glorifieds of what I'm going through. I knew the lucky messed up chick who was afraid to let people get too close (Chips Ahoy!). I've gotten sick on a cross town bus and had to lay down on a dirty public bench with no one to keep me company This happens to be one of the best rock and roll records of the last decade. The characters are the kids I grew up with and the stories are glorifieds of what I'm going through. I knew the lucky messed up chick who was afraid to let people get too close (Chips Ahoy!). I've gotten sick on a cross town bus and had to lay down on a dirty public bench with no one to keep me company but my thoughts (Stuck Between Stations). This is a wonderful, underrated band that reminds people that rock and roll is meant for the outsiders. Not the hipsters American Idols looking for a reason to whine.… Expand
  21. AllistairP
    Nov 1, 2006
    10
    Don't like the Hold Steady? Good, you're just like me about a month ago. This is one of those albums that makes you re-evaulate the band and it all clicks. You get the Hold Steady. Suddenly Boy and Girls is one of your fav. albums of the decade, and the other 2 aren't far behind. And if not, maybe the next one will do it for you. I personally feel ashamed it took them 3 Don't like the Hold Steady? Good, you're just like me about a month ago. This is one of those albums that makes you re-evaulate the band and it all clicks. You get the Hold Steady. Suddenly Boy and Girls is one of your fav. albums of the decade, and the other 2 aren't far behind. And if not, maybe the next one will do it for you. I personally feel ashamed it took them 3 times to get me to listen.… Expand
  22. MikeM
    Nov 7, 2006
    10
    Wow this album is just simply stunning. Best album of 2006 ( well that and the other wolrdly Sunset Rubdown album). This is going to be blaring from speakers for years to come. WIth their last three albums the Hold Steady have put them selves in to the realm of the likes of the Pixies, Pavement, & Neutral Milk Hotel. A legendary band, who in the next 20 years will be more myth than men. Wow this album is just simply stunning. Best album of 2006 ( well that and the other wolrdly Sunset Rubdown album). This is going to be blaring from speakers for years to come. WIth their last three albums the Hold Steady have put them selves in to the realm of the likes of the Pixies, Pavement, & Neutral Milk Hotel. A legendary band, who in the next 20 years will be more myth than men. Best album since NMH's In the Aeroplane over the sea… Expand
  23. MattB
    Dec 4, 2006
    10
    An overwhelming achievement in a completely untapped field of music. Nobody sounds like these guys, and I mean this in the best ways possible, but they do not get caught up in their uniqueness. This album is pure poetry and is the best literature of the year!
  24. joe
    Oct 25, 2006
    10
    best album of 2006
  25. ChrisK
    Oct 25, 2006
    10
    The smartest rock band around has just released one of the best records of the year.
  26. FikusS
    Aug 15, 2007
    10
    This album is unreal. This is what good American Bar Rock sounds like. If Bruce Springsteen started a Indie Rock bank in 75' it would have sounded like this. There are very few artists out there right now that tell a story like Craig Finn. Americana at it's best!
  27. Brian
    Feb 26, 2008
    10
    Unbelievable album, such a fun album to listen to. Finn just seems like a likable character with these stories.
  28. MattS
    Nov 24, 2006
    10
    Best album I've heard all year, although it's understandably not for everyone. I hated these guys when I first heard them a couple years ago, and they quickly became one of my favorite bands... newcomers should give this one a few spins before writing it off on first impressions.
  29. Ndrwdvdbrsn
    Oct 9, 2022
    10
    Boys and Girls in America encapsulates the feeling of emptiness that comes from a life of only drugs and partying; yet, ironically, their most fun album to play at a party. By far the best album from The Hold Steady.
  30. TomA
    Jan 20, 2010
    9
    Musically, there are parallels here with Springsteen, but lyrically they are worlds apart. I do like Springsteen but Finn here goes way beyond his level of artistry, his lyrics are intelligent, colourful and very original, and his tales of tearaway youth portray a narrative not disimilar from that adopted by the Arctic Monkeys. This goes beyond classic Americana, as it blends wit, Musically, there are parallels here with Springsteen, but lyrically they are worlds apart. I do like Springsteen but Finn here goes way beyond his level of artistry, his lyrics are intelligent, colourful and very original, and his tales of tearaway youth portray a narrative not disimilar from that adopted by the Arctic Monkeys. This goes beyond classic Americana, as it blends wit, excuberance and artistry in an almost nonchalant manner - a modern classic in the most unlikely of guises. Just listen to the previous album 'Almost Killed Me' and you'll wonder where on earth this came from.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

16
#16 Best Album of 2006
38
#38 Most Discussed Album of 2006

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
85

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 36
  3. Negative: 1 out of 36
  1. Blender
    90
    [Finn] tells better stories than anyone else in music these days. [Oct 2006, p.131]
    Read full review
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    91
    On several tracks, the swirls of organ they've added to their hyper-literate stomping suggest Deep Purple with a library card. [6 Oct 2006, p.68]
  3. Los Angeles Times
    75
    Packed with forceful, nuanced songwriting that makes room for face-melting guitar riffery, lovelorn Midwestern teenagers and even, by Hold Steady standards, a bit of actual singing.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »