OK, so if you click here, you can stream the forthcoming Hold Steady album Stay Positive. Pretty self-explanatory, I guess. But! For those of you stuck in your office without audio, I’m going to offer my immediate stream-of-consciousness first impression of each song. Think of it as my "Tuesday it’s hot today and I don’t want to go anywhere" gift.

1. “Constructive Summer”: If this were 1978 it would be in the running for “hit of the summer” and not just because singer, Craig Finn says, “summer” like 35 times (since it’s actually 2008 the "hit of summer" title will probably go to something by Lil Wayne or Coldplay). Still, this is a big, anathematic power-pop song—perfect first track on the album— Bruce Springsteenish.

2. “Sequestered in Memphis”: Keeps the momentum going, but, if you can believe it, sounds even more like Springsteen than the last one. Lots of organ and horns—and oh man there’s even some chanting at the end.

3. “One For the Cutters”: LOL what’s that, a lute? Weird. Finn sounds all minstrel on this one, though I have to say he’s a good lyricist. If it were faster he’d be rapping. Maybe they COULD secure “08 hit of the summer” afterall. Oh they're talking about Christmas now, never mind.

4. “Navy Sheets”: This track picks the pace back up, but I’m not sure how I feel about this 70s synth sound in the background. Kind of cheesy and undercuts Finn’s vocal seriousness. Works fine if you’re Black Sabbath, but here, not so much. At least it’s peppy, I guess.

5. “Lord I’m Discouraged”: This one sounds kind of depressing. If you’d just played this song, and had me pick out the title from the track list, I’d go right for “Lord I’m Discouraged.” Well, it’s also the first line of the song, but whatever. The solo towards the end shreds.

6. “Yeah Sapphire”: Back with the piano and guitars. Pretty straightforward rocker—still sounds like The Boss. Of all the songs, so far, this one is the simplest, most bare-boned, rock track. I could picture some steel workers, or maybe a men in a deodorant commercial, rocking out to this.

7. “Both Crosses”: Hm this one’s got a build up, but to what!? I think this song’s about Easter (what’s with the holiday theme?). Hey they’ve thrown a Theremin in there! Neat! Oh, but here comes that lute-sounding instrument again. What does “transverberate” mean? OK this song isn’t going anywhere...

8. “Stay Positive”: This one’s a bold rocker. Chanting, organ, guitars…I could see this one being played during the climactic moment of a movie, like when the protagonist, who’s just realized the love of his life is about to board a boat headed to the Galapagos Islands for like, months, and he's got to stop her, but he’s WAY across town and has no money, so he runs the whole way. Maybe he hops on a scooter at some point, I don’t know.

9. “Magazines”: There are two more songs to go, but it sounds like we’re already winding down—a big slow jam. At this point in the album, though, it’s kind of boring; there isn’t too much going on here aside from more of what we’ve already heard. Maybe they should’ve saved this one for the end? We’ll see…

10. “Joke About Jamaica”: Here’s another slow jam, but I like this one better than the last song. You know what the verse kind of reminds me of? That Rancid song “Time Bomb.” The face melting (for this band, anyway) guitar solo at the end greatly ups the excitement of this track.

11. “Slapped Actress”: Another straightforward rocker with pianos, but this time the guitar sound has a harder edge. There’s some “whoa oh” chanting, but I’ll let it slide this time because it’s the last song, otherwise my eyes might start rolling involuntarily. Now it just got all quiet, for the bridge, which means it'll probably get all loud and powerful again aaaaand…yep there it goes.