First a bit of housekeeping. Much to my embarrassment, The Hold Steady's May 4 release was skipped from last week's PLAY > SKIP. Please, play, play, play. Songwriter and lead singer Craig Finn is keeping the art of great American storytelling alive. "Heaven is Whenever" is rich with tales of losers looking for the big reward. It's also full of big guitars and 1970s FM riffs. The Hold Steady aren't looking reinvent anything, they're just satisfied keeping literate rock on the 21st century musical map. I'm happy follow them wherever their ragged road trip takes them.

WATCH The Hold Steady perform their single "The Weekenders."

Check out more of this week's new music!