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Separation Sunday chronicles the exploits of two young adults who swing back and forth between two extreme lifestyles. With the Mississippi river as the backdrop, they delve into drugs and alcohol and suffer the consequences, accept "Swiss cheese" religion and find only spiritual discontentment, fall into profanity and depression, then finally struggle to drag themselves out of it all.

Finn's characters are the archetype of human decadence--knowing what is right and beneficial, but doing what is wrong and profane anyway. But hopelessness isn't the point of Separation Sunday; "Crucifixion Cruise" asks the question, "Lord what do you recommend / to a real sweet girl who's made some not sweet friends / Lord what would you prescribe / to a real soft girl who's having real hard times," and "How a Resurrection Really Feels" provides the answer--"she crashed into the Easter mass / with her hair done up in broken glass / she was limping left on a broken heel / when she said 'father--can I tell your congregation how a resurrection really feels?'" Though it may require a brutal change, salvation is waiting for those who realize the need for it.

Less sung than they are melodically spoken, the dark, dirty, and confused lives of these characters as told by lead vocalist Craig Finn make the album's lyricism by far its most distinctive aspect and the real clincher of what makes The Hold Steady's sound so irresistibly fun. Female vocals shout in the background on various tracks, piano-lead melodies add sustenance to others, and pile-driving, rifftastic cuts fill nearly track. Backed by an excellent classic rock band, the songs on Separation Sunday are incredibly huge, outrageously gritty, and undeniably entertaining; this is one of the best rock records of the year.

Jonathan Avants 9/10/2005