Even as the sound of the Hold Steady continues to swell, they don't abandon rock's simplest and most reliable inspirations: chasing girls, chasing the party and fighting the disillusionment that follows both. Stay Positive can get too self-aware for its own good -- be it the Frampton jam-out to end "Joke About Jamaica" or the sentimental ivory tinkles that sometimes make boozy anthems feel bloated -- but when the big-hair guitar solo rips through the center of "Lord, I'm Discouraged," it upholds their reputation as the most painfully earnest fellows at the party.