''Almost Killed Me'' is the debut studio album by

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

-based rock band

the Hold Steady The Hold Steady is an American rock band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, now based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn (vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), ...

, released on March 16, 2004 on

Frenchkiss Records Frenchkiss Records is an independent record label based in New York City. The label was started in 1999 by Syd Butler, bassist and founder of Les Savy Fav. The label's first purpose was to release Les Savy Fav's second album '' The Cat and The Co ...

. It is considered by many to be a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, with several recurring themes such as

near-death experience A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death which researchers claim share similar characteristics. When positive, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detac ...

parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature fo ...

and the fictional character Charlemagne. Its concept album roots are further explored with the recurring characters in ''

Separation Sunday ''Separation Sunday'' is the second studio album by the American indie rock band The Hold Steady, released on May 3, 2005, through Frenchkiss Records. A concept album, ''Separation Sunday'' follows the interconnected stories of several fictional c ...

'', the Hold Steady's second album, which uses the same characters introduced in ''Almost Killed Me''. ''Almost Killed Me'' was ranked number 99 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''s 100 Best Albums of the Decade. While not a full-time member of the band at this time, future keyboard player

Franz Nicolay Franz Nicolay (born 1977) is an American musician and writer. He is best known for playing the accordion and piano in The World/Inferno Friendship Society and keyboards in The Hold Steady from 2005 to 2010 and again from 2016 onwards. He is also ...

makes a guest appearance on the album alongside

the World/Inferno Friendship Society The World/Inferno Friendship Society (also referred to as World Inferno, or Inferno) was an American band from Brooklyn, New York. Its style merged punk, soul, klezmer and jazz, while its collective membership featured horns, piano and guitar ...

bandmate Peter Hess.

Track listing

#"Positive Jam" (

Craig Finn Craig Finn (born August 22, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the frontman of the American indie rock band The Hold Steady, with whom he has recorded eight studio albums. Prior to forming The Hold Steady, Fi ...

) – 3:19 #"The Swish" (Finn,

Tad Kubler Tad Kubler is an American guitarist, known for his work with Lifter Puller, Song of Zarathustra, and, most-notably, The Hold Steady. He previously worked with Brett Johnson, bass player for Atmosphere, in the band Ten-fold Hate, in Minneapolis ...

) – 4:11 #"Barfruit Blues" (Finn, Kubler) – 3:31 #"Most People Are DJs" (Finn, Kubler) – 5:50 #"Certain Songs" (Finn) – 3:54 #"Knuckles" (Finn) – 3:46 #"Hostile, Mass." (Finn, Kubler) – 3:42 #"Sketchy Metal" (Finn, Kubler) – 4:17 #"Sweet Payne" (Finn, Kubler) – 4:33 #"Killer Parties" (Finn, Kubler) – 5:48

Australian edition bonus tracks

"Milkcrate Mosh" – 5:56 #"Hot Fries" – 3:37 #"Curves & Nerves" – 2:40 #"Modesto Is Not That Sweet" – 3:12 #"You Gotta Dance" – 2:00

References

2004 debut albums The Hold Steady albums Frenchkiss Records albums {{2000s-indie-rock-album-stub