Many of the songs on Major General feature the power pop structure that Nicolay's full-time band has perfected.  Franz's 'whooooas, whooooas' on songs like "Jeff Penalty" and "Quiet Where I Lie" coupled with the prominent keyboard would be worthy of any Hold Steady record.  "This World Is An Open Door" in all its hand-clapping, riff happy glory is the best example of this.

Power pop numbers aside, Major General is much more diverse sounding than anything in The Hold Steady catalogue.

"Hey Dad" and "I'm Done Singing" are among the handful of cabaret inspired songs.  The theatrical, almost vaudevillian feel of these songs, along with the smooth jazzy sound of "Do We Live In Dreams?" are a refreshing sound in indie rock.

The dramatic, theatrical flair is also apparent on "Nightratsong" and the cleverly titled "Confessions Of an Ineffective Casanova", both of which evoke rock opera-era Queen.

Toss in a lovely moonlight piano ballad ("Note On a Subway Wall"), a Beatles-esque acoustic guitar plucker ("X-Games"), and the ubiquitous banjo song ("Ceasefire, or, Mrs. Norman Maine"), and Nicolay has given you an album of accessible pop nuggets that are guaranteed not to wear out their welcome.