Tomorrow night in downtown Honolulu, you'll have the chance to catch one of the best American rock bands around.

Despite its rather nondescript “;indie”; look, the Hold Steady has nevertheless distinguished itself with an honest sound that brings together the best of classic rock elements with Craig Finn's cinematic storytelling of young lives in transition, from big cities and small towns across the U.S.

Wide critical and audience acclaim started with 2006's “;Boys and Girls in America,”; continued through '08's “;Stay Positive,”; and with Tuesday's release of “;Heaven Is Wherever”; (hands down, one of the year's best albums), the band's profile should peak in the months to come.

(The guys will enjoy a weekend stay in Honolulu before touring in earnest behind the new album later this month.)

So why the Hold Steady? If you're a fan of Thin Lizzy, early Bruce Springsteen, Midwestern legends the Replacements and Huesker Due, the late poet Jim Carroll or just straightforward guitar-driven rock, this band is right up your alley.

Core creators Finn and guitarist Tad Kubler originally met in Minneapolis some years back, getting attention with a post-punk outfit called Lifter Puller that lasted until some time in 2000. Wisconsin native Kubler said by phone last week from the band's adopted home of Brooklyn, N.Y., that while he and Finn share some musical interests, “;Craig is a bigger Replacements fan between the both of us. I'm more into classic rock like Cheap Trick, AC/DC and Def Leppard.”;

After the members of Lifter Puller went their separate ways, Finn and Kubler met up again two years later in New York City.

“;We've always been friends even after the band broke up,”; Kubler said. “;I originally didn't move to New York to play music, but to be a photographer. (He has a website for that, http://www.tadkubler.com.) I've shot some stuff for magazines like Rolling Stone, and I'm working on a book of my photos.”;

KUBLER described the new album as the band's most dynamic and sonically diverse. The album's two breakout tracks—“;Hurricane J”; and “;Rock Problems”;—are, respectively, a letter of concern for a wild, spirited girl and a heightened account of a drunken reverie.

The guitarist, in particular, rips into an inspired solo after the last couplet of Finn's “;Soft in the Center.”;

“;The song, in itself, is about this kid who's being told to get his life together, so when it came around to my part, I just did some straight-up 'Don't Stop Believin'' Journey s—t. I was Neal Schon to Craig's Steve Perry,”; Kubler joked. “;With every record, we've been kind of fortunate to be able to travel farther, geographically speaking.

“;We think of touring not as a necessity, but more of a priority. It may keep us out longer than we want sometimes, but if people want to know us, you have to see us live.”;

The Hold Steady hit the road with a change in personnel; gone is keyboardist Franz Nicolay, and the band augments its touring lineup with a new keyboard player in Dan Neustadt and Steve Selvidge as an additional guitarist.

“;Going into the studio for this album, we ended up doing a lot more texturing of sound and layering of guitar tracks, which would've been missed live had we not added Dan and Steve,”; Kubler said. “;Steve used to be in a band called the Bloodthirsty Lovers that opened for us on our first tour. We share the same birthday, which helped, I guess, but more so is that he's all around a great player. He can do amazing things with a delay pedal, or he can be a total shredder.

“;It helps mix it up a little bit, and he's the caliber of player that forces me to play well.”;