The Hold Steady get more polished

You can almost hear the narrow-minded cries: "The Hold Steady have sold out!"

Hardly.

The Brooklyn-based five-piece has added plenty of polish and lower the volume knobs -- only slightly -- to great effect on their fourth disc, "Stay Positive."

Dynamic arrangements, crisp production and added instrumentation have not diluted their hard riff inclinations or depth of storytelling. If anything, they seem more focused and mature -- all the more welcome with the disc's theme of aging gracefully (the members are in their mid-to-late 30s after all).

Singer/guitarist Craig Finn's voice is more poignant throughout, and his lyrical scope still appeals to the better angels in all of us: "There's gonna come a time when the true scene leaders/will forget where they differ and get 'big picture'/Because the kids at the shows will have kids of their own/and the sing-along songs will become our scriptures," he wails on the shimmering title track.

"Constructive Summer" and "One for the Cutters" -- the latter boasting a surprising harpsichord -- rock hard and paint a somber picture of middle America, while "Both Crosses" offers a dark religious narrative.

They use contagious horn arrangements on "Sequestered in Memphis," keep the sing-along frenzy going with the ironic "Magazines" and offer melodic mid-tempo tracks with "Lord, I'm Discouraged" and "Joke About Jamaica."

Contrary to their name, The Hold Steady just keep getting better.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: "Yeah Sapphire" is an escapist rock anthem right out of Springsteen's how-to manual that should become a hallmark of The Hold Steady's manic live show.