It's Mostly Pretty Nice, Yeah It's Mostly Pretty Alright

After Franz left in 2010, the band felt the departure in a big way. But thanks to a key anniversary years later, The Hold Steady was able to come back stronger than ever. +

We're taking a quick break from the story of The Hold Steady for a moment, so we can chat with music critic Annie Zaleski about "Stay Positive" as an album.

"In rock and roll, your success sort of dooms you." The Hold Steady's ascendancy affected the band in many ways, some of which weren't positive.

As a band, more success usually means more touring, more promotion, and more questions. Those things usually affect you. It was no different for The Hold Steady, and you can hear it all over "Stay Positive."

Indie rockers The Hold Steady were riding high after the success of 2006's "Boys And Girls In America." They followed it up in 2008 with "Stay Positive," which catapulted them to a new level.

A decade ago, The Hold Steady released the seminal "Stay Positive." This is the story of that record, how things changed for the band, and how they recaptured that magic 10 years later.