A fresh blast of guitars from the Hold Steady

January 30, 2014 at 12:00a.m.

Desperate characters with twists and turns are nothing new to indie-rock band The Hold Steady. However, normally such unexpectedness is associated with song narratives.

While that’s still the case with the group’s new studio album, “Teeth Dreams” (due out March 25), it’s more the instrumentation that may catch some longtime fans off guard.

“It might be a little tougher, a little heavier,” said singer-guitarist Craig Finn, calling from Brooklyn, N.Y. “This is the first record having a second guitar player, which made it possibly a more guitar-focused record.”

Finn said the addition of Steve Selvidge to the band — Tad Kubler (guitar), Bobby Drake (drums) and Galen Polivka (bass) — opened up doors with standout new tracks including “Spinner,” “On With The Business” and “The Ambassador.” The band plans on playing unreleased material at its Saturday show at The Beachland Ballroom and Tuesday gig at Mr. Smalls Theatre.

The new tunes are decidedly Hold Steady, with Finn’s descriptive lyrics providing listeners with a cinematic feel unmatched by many, but it’s the jamming guitar licks and solos that make “Teeth Dreams” have some, well, teeth. Previously, the outfit employed a keyboardist, who is no longer with the band.

“It’s a good change of pace,” Finn said. “We’re not young guys for being in a rock band. Everyone kind of assumes you go gently into the night. It’s our sixth album, and you’re supposed to be making your mellow sixth album. Deciding we’re going to make our heaviest album was kind of fun and kind of a contrarian thing, making it feel a little more rock ’n’ roll in some way.”

Finn also suggested that rock music of late is on the ropes. He said it’s certainly not what the kids are listening to. For proof, he pointed to any music award show where, unless Aerosmith or Dave Grohl are performing, the lineup is devoid of rock acts.

When it’s pointed out that The Hold Steady would probably play the role of rock-music savior on a music award show, Finn laughed and said, “Yeah, but the phone doesn’t ring.”

As if there wasn’t already a cult following to The Hold Steady, the band solidified such a designation last year when it created an original version of “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” for the hit HBO television series “Game of Thrones.”

One look at the bespectacled and book-wormy Finn would suggest he’s a sci-fi guy, but you’d be wrong.

“You know what, I haven’t watched it that much,” Finn said. “But it was a really cool thing to be a part of, and we got a lot of attention. When they called, it was pretty much a no-brainer.”

With that in mind, there must be some show that Finn would love to have The Hold Steady’s music appear on.

“I just watched [HBO’s new series ‘True Detective’], so maybe that’s the one,” Finn said. “I’m kind of interested in that. That might be right up my alley, with a lot of twists and turns, and sort of desperate characters in it.”