Released in 2023, The Price of Progress is The Hold Steady’s ninth studio album—an accomplishment in and of itself. But it’s also a powerful new entry in what might be considered the band’s third-act trilogy, after such return-to-form releases as Thrashing Thru the Passion and Open Door Policy. On The Price of Progress, the band’s comfort with one another is clear. But it never slips into complacency, with sky-scraping guitar work from Steve Selvidge and Tad Kubler; heart-thumping rhythms from drummer Bobby Drake and bassist Galen Polivka; soul-soaring keys from Franz Nicolay; and the literary, boozy storytelling lyrics of Craig Finn holding it all together. Here are songs as stories—as we’ve come to expect them to be—but with a focus on the back-half of life. Can rock ’n’ roll dreams survive in a halfway house? What happens when skaters grow up to have desk jobs? The Price of Progress is a traveling album, one that examines the notion that where you end up might not be where you were hoping to get—but that it’s all OK. At its core, the record is built on the premise that the journey will always be more fulfilling than the destination. Which we can all be thankful for, as The Hold Steady continues to make music together after 20 rollicking, rip-roaring years.