The male/female vocal harmonies on the folky opener ‘Felix & Adelita’ (two characters that reappear elsewhere on the record – a device nicked from his ex-colleague Finn?) are employed cleverly and revisited in ‘Z for Zachariah’, a typically wry observation with some biblical references and an oddly violent undertone.

Luck and Courage has improved in that aspect – there still are flashes of accordion and brushed drums, along with banjo, slide guitar, violin and organ sounds, but there is a loose coherence to Nicolay’s new songs that make them a lot more listenable. But although the lyrics were of a high standard throughout, the songs often sounded overwrought and overly thought out. Nicolay’s first solo album, Major General, was an agreeable slab of slightly theatrical folk-rock ‘n’ roll that succeeded in showing off the multi-instrumentalist’s versatility. Live, the two made for a visual double act that added to the sweaty thrill of a Hold Steady gig, and the combination of Finn’s Husker Du riffs and Nicolay’s trilling melodies and backing vocals was one of the band’s trademarks. What received less attention was the question how Nicolay himself would compensate for the lack of Craig Finn in his life. When Franz Nicolay announced that he was leaving The Hold Steady, many wondered how the band would cope without his trademark keyboard and organ riffs and how their live performances would be poorer for the absence of the mustache-wearing, always snazzily dressed Nicolay.

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