Psst. Wanna hear one of the best discs of the year before everybody else does? Get your mitts on a copy of Separation Sunday, the breathtaking sophomore offering from literate Brooklyn guitar-rockers The Hold Steady.

The brainchild of former Minneapolis resident and Lifter Puller leader Craig Finn, the Steady have been generating mucho buzz on the indie circuit, while being likened to everyone from Springsteen and GBV to Husker Du. Without doubt, the ambitious, articulate and accomplished Separation Sunday -- a dark, drug-fuelled tale of alienation, self-destruction and resurrection -- justifies every bit of hype and breathless comparison.

The band's grandly arranged classic rock does indeed owe a hefty sonic debt to the E Streeters, especially when the swelling organ and tinkly piano kick in. But Bruce's guitar has seldom been this heavy or dominant; with their chugging muscular riffs and Marshall-stack power, these cuts sound like the E Street band with Bob Mould on rhythm instead of Miami Steve (and with Keith Richards, Joe Strummer and Phil Lynott dropping in to add a lick now and then). Likewise, Finn's literate wordiness and slurred, spoken delivery can sound uncannily like Springsteen at times. But the way he barks and rants like a poetry slammer can also remind you of a more cerebral Lee Ving or even a less whiny Jim Carroll.

When it comes to lyrics, Finn is midway between the Boss and William S. Burroughs. Separation Sunday's shadowy, loose narrative traces the downward spiral and spiritual rebirth of a young "hoodrat" druggie named Holly -- short for Hallelujah -- who ditches an older lover to drift across the western U.S. running drugs with a dealer named Charlemagne, until she comes down one day in a confessional and is born again. Or something like that; the story is told out of sequence and the recurring images are fuzzy and jumbled, making the whole sad, sordie saga as ethereal as a memory, a fever dream or a hallucination.

But whatever; Separation Sunday's Born to Run Drugs storyline doesn't really matter. What matters is the way Finn and his bandmates tell it -- with grandeur and grace, power and passion, and pretty much every other quality that separates great bands from also-rans and guarantees albums like this a spot on critics' year-end lists. Track it down online or at a cool indie store and hear for yourself. But don't wait too long; this secret's too good to keep.

Track Listing:

1. Hornets! Hornets!
2. Cattle and the Creeping Things
3. Your Little Hoodrat Friend
4. Banging Camp
5. Charlemagne in Sweatpants
6. Stevie Nix
7. Multitude of Casualties
8. Don't Let Me Explode
9. Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night
10. Cruxifixion Cruise
11. How a Resurrection Really Feels