Rockband The Hold Steady heeft hun nieuwe single Understudies uitgebracht. Op 31 maart verschijnt hun negende studioalbum The Price Of Progress. Voor de release delen zij de single Understudies. Het album is geproduceerd door Josh Kaufman en beloofd hun meest omvangrijke album tot nu toe te worden.

Over Understudies zegt frontman Craig Finn:
“This is sonically a leap from any song on the previous eight THS records. Franz brought this idea in and it went to a lot of cool places. I remember walking into the control room to see Galen and producer Josh Kaufman working on the panned bass part that comes in on the last verse. I was surprised and wildly excited by it. We all were. The story here: an actor is restless a/er his performance. He and a fellow crew member disappear into the night trying to find something to help them sleep. The next day neither of them can be reached, and the director is scrambling for a replacement.”

The Hold Steady is in 2003 opgericht in Brooklyn, New York. Sindsdien hebben ze acht albums uitgebracht en meer dan duizend shows gespeeld. De band bestaat uit Bobby Drake (drums), Craig Finn (zang), Tad Kubler (gitaar, zang), Franz Nicolay (keyboards, zang), Galen Polivka (bas) en Steve Selvidge (gitaar, zang).