Craig Finn writes of his newest album, Always Been, “I believe this to be the most narrative record I have made.” I immediately needed to find out what he meant. If you know anything about Finn, most notably known for fronting The Hold Steady, it’s that narrative songwriting is…well, kind of his thing. His songs are dense, and thoughtful, and cinematic. He tends to stick to themes and characters and isn’t afraid to create a world for his albums to live in. So naturally, I needed to know what he meant by the MOST narrative record in his mind.
Always Been starts with “Bethany,” a song of many firsts. It was the first song written that brought Finn into the album’s world. The first song he took to the producer (we’ll come back to this) and the first song they recorded. For the listener, it’s of course the first impression; an impression that will without doubt leave you with an understanding that this story is unique and deep. “Bethany” is an introduction to our main character: an ex-reverend who served his congregation with absolutely no faith and has now fallen on hard times. This track is a page-turner of a song that truly does detail everything you need to know about the world you are entering and the characters you are about to follow. Lyrically, Finn is expected to be dense and “Bethany” definitely delivers on that. But let’s talk about the producer.
Always Been is produced by The War on Drugs frontman Adam Granduciel and at about 3 minutes and 30 seconds into “Bethany” it will become incredibly noticeable. Granduciel is all over this record and it is truly a refreshing display of collaboration between two powerhouses. It is a record that, as is consistent with a Finn project, often delivers a driving rhythm backing line after line of specific yet profound narrative details. And yet, as you may hear in an album by The War on Drugs, this record can pause and offer sprawling guitar with moments of breath and reflection. It’s a very interesting mesh of two established songwriters who know how to tell a story.
So, let’s get to that story. The songs peppered throughout Always Been can be about as dark as you imagine a story to be regarding a clergyman fraud. While that character takes the role of our protagonist, the songs aren’t all about him – some are simply other moments occurring in his world. “Luke & Leanna” is a good example of this. An 80’s ballad, Springsteen-esque song, “Luke & Leanna” details a seemingly happy couple with an underlying darkness and ashamed secret.
The album isn’t entirely dark, however. There are moments of redemption and they happen in the handful of troubadour-tinted, travel-the-cities type songs that follow our protagonist. Songs like “A Man Needs a Vacation” and “Postcards,” while I can’t say are objectively positive in tone, at least offer some moments of normality or a tamer life relatively speaking.
I won’t spend any more time diving into the story because I do think this is an album that begs you to sit with it and dissect it. It’s one that requires your ears; a story that needs to be told by characters you may not like but at least can empathize with. I’m reminded of a project like Aaron West and the Roaring Twenties with this album as it’s not necessarily the happiest story but it is one that is grounded in humanity. I tend to agree with Finn on this one, it might just be the most narrative record he has created. His storytelling talents are on full display here and it’s an impressive feat of creativity and world-building. And I think a little escapism, no matter the complexities of the world you may enter, should always be welcomed in this current state of music.
Always Been is out everywhere on April 4th. Listen to “Bethany” below:
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