If a collaboration between the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn and the War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel seems strange in theory, Always Been (Tamarac/Thirty Tigers) makes it feel like a no-brainer. As Finn acknowledges, there’s nothing fancy about the music on his sixth solo LP. Granduciel is a producer of the utmost patience and restraint, allowing the melodies to evolve in time, employing simplicity, repetition and slow-builds to widen each song’s dramatic arc in subtle and memorable ways. And that leaves plenty of room for Finn’s most cohesive on-album narrative to date. Most tracks follow a complex protagonist who chose the clergy despite his lack of faith, telling the story of his rise and fall as he travels the country seeking redemption.
A published author and frustrated journalist, Finn also hosts That’s How I Remember It, a disarmingly unique podcast that examines the connection between memory and creativity with an array of guests, including Fred Armisen, Lucinda Williams, Johnny Marr, Jason Isbell, Duff McKagan, Adam Duritz and many others.
MAGNET’s Hobart Rowland snatched a few minutes with Finn just prior to his string of tour dates supporting Bob Mould.
You’ve said that Always Been is the most narrative album you’ve made so far. What was the inspiration for the story?
I had someone in my real life that I’d reconnected with who’d become a reverend—and I was kind of blown away by that. I just started thinking about the idea of a human representing the divine and trying to lead a congregation. As someone who grew up Catholic, religion has always been interesting to me, and it’s appeared in my work. But this was a guy who was willing to lead a congregation but didn’t believe in God. I like the idea of these uniforms we try on … him putting on a priest collar or whatever and getting the respect a clergy person gets. I thought it was fascinating.
Most of the songs concern the character in this narrative. But there are some that are like bottle episodes in the middle of it … kind of like a Rocky And Bullwinkle cartoon, where there’s these other small cartoons within it. My manager told me that didn’t sound very hip, so he said, “Let’s say Pulp Fiction.” There are these stories within the world that don’t exactly advance the narrative, but they’re in the same universe.
How did you link up with Adam Granduciel?
The Holdy Steady brought the War On Drugs on what I believe was their first U.S. tour, and we connected there. We became friends and remained friends. We bonded over some music that comes up on the record a little bit—things like Warren Zevon, John Hiatt and Jackson Browne. When Adam makes music for the War On Drugs, he kind of goes on a journey of sound. He starts laying down stuff, and over time, he might change the tempo, change the field, etc. Eventually, from what he’s told me, he gets to the words, carving out a song. I’m the exact opposite. I have lots of words and barely any music at first. I thought it would be interesting to meet in the middle.
Adam had a studio (in Burbank) we could work at, and I always wanted to make a record in L.A. I played him “Bethany” on an acoustic guitar right there in the studio, and he was like, “OK, we’ve got a song. Why don’t you come back in two weeks?” And I did. Dave Hartley and Anthony LaMarca from the War On Drugs were there at the time working on stuff with Adam, so they joined us. We recorded three songs in a couple days, and pretty much immediately, it was like, “All right, there should be a record.” It was one of my better decisions, because it really did work—and I think Adam was excited.
What were some of the challenges that came with fashioning a compelling musical environment to carry the narrative?
I wanted to tell the stories cleanly. I was driving around, and my Sirius radio kind of got stuck on the Tom Petty station. I was just marveling over his songwriting and how direct it is. It’s not tricky, but it’s so moving. I told Adam that I wanted to make a direct record—I didn’t want it to be tricky. The music is very straightforward. Sometimes we’d try something and find it to be too much. It’s a storytelling record, so it was like, “Is it getting in the way of the story? Is it supporting the story?” I think that’s a question that you just keep asking yourself.
How did Kathleen Edwards wind up on the album?
Dave Hause invited her and I to do a show at his Sing Us Home festival in Philadelphia. We got along really well, and I played (Always Been closer) “Shamrock” that night, and she was like, “That’s a great song.” We were making the record, and it was the second session. Adam said, “Hey, Kathleen Edwards called, and she’s interested in coming by the studio.” I was like, “She’s friends with you, too? Let’s get her on a track.”
“People Of Substance” was first. Then it was “Shamrock,” because she really liked that one. The next thing you know, she’s on four or five songs. This past September, her and I went to Europe and did a two-person tour, which was awesome. She’s amazing—her songs, her voice, her guitar playing, all of it.
What can we expect when you take Always Been on the road? Will the album be performed in sequence as a piece?
I don’t think so … I mean, that’s not my plan. What I’d like to keep doing is going out in different configurations. I’m going out as a duo for the Bob Mould shows. I thought it might be nice for Bob’s audience—who’s getting older—to not have a barrage before Bob. This is my sixth solo record, so I have a catalog I want to dig into. There’s not much on this new record that I feel couldn’t be delivered as a standalone. Hopefully they’re all good songs on their own.
See Craig Finn live.
