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The Hold Steady, as much as critics gush about them, are perhaps one of the few bands in rock that haven't punched through to get the acclaim many say they deserve.

And in the mail today, I received my copy of their new album "Stay Positive."

I'm a fan.

Only a few tracks in, and it's got that same Boss sound with the sad lyrics and paradoxically upbeat music. In the little bit I know about music these days, The Hold Steady are recording some of the most straight-ahead rock music that's being made and released in the country.

There's plenty of catchy riffs imported from the late 70s (that got filtered through the 90s grunge), a little twinkling piano here and there, and they're not too proud to include some "whoa-ho-ho" in a song. The way they deliver the tunes, you're apt to remember back to that one party you went to when you were 19 and it was a little too hot outside for 11 p.m. Even though you drank beer you stole from your parents' fridge, it felt really really good in the soft summer, and you didn't worry about tomorrow.

The Hold Steady are great at setting that scene just before everyone is too drunk, too sad, and too sorry. And then they'll show the consequences afterward, with plenty of implicit denial and regret flashed through colored stage lights.

A few lines so far catch my ear, too:

This whole town is lifeless.
Been that way our whole lives just
work at the mill until you die.
Work at the mill and then you die.

-from the first track, "Constructive Summer"

I've always appreciated bands that work hard. These guys definitely do.