The Hold Steady’s fifth album, 2010’s Heaven Is Whenever, marked a departure for the band, both literally and figuratively. Keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Franz Nicolay had stepped away, and as a result, Heaven Is Whenever relies more heavily on guitars than the group’s previous efforts, while also adding numerous backing vocals and heavy synths. Still, Craig Finn’s storytelling is at the core of these songs, which are populated by waitresses and gamblers, dive bars and seedy clubs. None of Finn’s usual characters from the group’s previous albums are mentioned—at least not by name—but they’re here in spirit. Each tune is sung in the first person, focusing not only on the struggles of life, but on how those same struggles make the sweet parts of life that much sweeter. Finn himself told Pitchfork in 2010: “I kept saying [Stay Positive] was a record about trying to age gracefully. [Heaven Is Whenever], I think actually was us aging gracefully. Some of the lyrics come from a place of a little more wisdom, being 38 and at this point having a lifetime in rock ’n’ roll.” Not every fan nor critic loved the band’s decision to change things up, but that didn’t stop Heaven Is Whenever from being The Hold Steady’s highest-charting album, and as the years went by—and as The Hold Steady’s story continued—tracks like “Hurricane J,” “Rock Problems,” and “The Weekenders” drove a newfound appreciation for the album, which the group released as a Super Deluxe edition in 2020.