It's funny where you hear great new music. I heard this band for the first time in a liquor store down the road from my house.

The guy at the counter informed me these cats are called The Hold Steady, but based on the first listen as I was buying a bucket full of Bass Ale and Guinness Draught, I thought it was Bob Mould being backed up by the E Street Band. Most of the guys in the band come from Minnesota, but the band is based in Brooklyn.

Seriously, you're either going to love vocalist Craig Finn or despise him. Count me among those who are already won over, however. And the song that won me over is brand new, a track called "Sequestered In Memphis" from a CD called "Stay Positive."

Like many of the band's songs, "Sequestered in Memphis" is a bar tale. In fact, The Hold Steady is a quintessential bar band, kind of a frat band for an older set, perhaps. Check out the first verse and chorus:

It started when we were dancin’
It got heavy when we got to the bathroom.
We didn’t go back to her place,
We went to some place where she cat-sits.
She said, “I know I look tired, but everything’s fried, here in Memphis.”

Man, they want to know exactly which bathroom…
Dude, does it make any difference? It can’t be important…

Yeah, sure, I’ll tell my story, again…

In bar-light, she looked all right;
In daylight, she looked desperate
That’s all right, I was desperate, too
I’m getting pretty sick of this interview.
Subpoenaed in Texas, sequestered in Memphis
Subpoenaed in Texas, sequestered in Memphis

***

I love, love, love the line in the first verse where Finn sings that they didn't go back to her place, "we went to some place where she cat-sits."

C'mon, guys. You know like I do what he's saying: She's crazy.

The rest of "Stay Positive" has not attached itself to me like this song has. However, I'm on my third listen, and at least a couple of the tracks are starting to come around. Reviews of the CD garnered a score of 85 on Metacritic, which is a damned good score. Furthermore, this track is so good, I'm willing to go out of my way to learn more about these guys.

Very interesting sound. Wonderful 1970s-influenced E Street Band-like instrumentation. And brilliant, funny lyrics. They would be great for a college town.

Funny, but I live in one. Now, check out the video from their live performance of "Sequestered In Memphis" three weeks ago on Letterman.