The Hold Steady shared a new song, “Heavy Covenant,” which singer/guitarist Craig Finn says is about “travel, technology, and human connection.”
It’s the second cut released from Open Door Policy, which is out on the band’s Positive Jams label via Thirty Tigers on Feb. 19.
“The song came out of two different music pieces that the Hold Steady piano/keyboardist Franz Nicolay brought in, and with the help of producer Josh Kaufman, we combined them,” Finn explained of the song. “It came together quickly, and when our friends Stuart and Jordan came in and added the horns to the chorus it really seemed to bring it together. To us, this song is a great indication of where the band’s sound is at in 2021.”
On Dec. 1, 2020, the Hold Steady put out “Family Farm,” the first single from the group’s upcoming eighth album.
Finn previously stated that the upcoming LP was “very much approached as an album vs. a collection of individual songs, and it feels like our most musically expansive record. This album was written and almost entirely recorded before the pandemic started, but the songs and stories explore power, wealth, mental health, technology, capitalism, consumerism, and survival – issues which compounded in 2020.”
All preorders of Open Door Policy will receive an instant download of “Heavy Covenant” as well as “Family Farm.” Exclusive limited-edition colored vinyl will be sold at independent record stores.
