Clear Heart, Full Eyes

I finally got around to listening to Craig Finn's solo album, Clear Heart, Full Eyes.  It was pretty different from what I'm used to from the Hold Steady.

The sound was a departure from most of the Hold Steady work - the steel guitar and violin gave some of the tracks an alt-country twang.

CHFE was also thoroughly depressing.  The storytelling reminds me of previous Hold Steady albums, but if you remove all the lights and the uptempo tracks.  No hot soft lights, the massive nights have given way to massive hangovers and the subjects of the songs don't seem like caricatures anymore.  I think Finn puts it well in an interview with AV Club, "maybe I was fatigued by all that optimism".

CHFE isn't a pre-game or after-bar record, but still worth a listen.