Major General

Franz Nicolay — best known as "the piano guy with the funny mustache" in the Hold Steady — goes it alone on Major General. The album starts with the rollicking pub-rock anthem "Jeff Penalty" and it sounds like, well, the Hold Steady — right down to the cleverer-than-thou lyrics and speak-sing delivery. A lot of Major is be reminiscent of Nicolay's "other band," but luckily he pilfers the good bits: big fun riffs, quotable couplets, cheeky song titles ("Confessions of an Ineffective Casanova," for starters). There is some branching out here, though: the shuffling, jazz-y folk of "Do We Not Live in Dreams?" and the twinkly piano ballad "Note on a Subway Wall" are certainly not your typical Craig Finn fare. It's probably "Quiet Where I Lie," though, that is Major's most satisfying moment — an unabashed, spirited E-Street band rave-up.