Train pulls an Adam Young on “A Girl, A Bottle, A Boat”

By Ryan G

Halfway through the first song, I’m thinking “Drops of Jupiter this ain’t!”

Train is undoubtedly trying to stay relevant by getting in on the synth-y pop train. I’m going to go ahead and call it now – “Play that Song” is going to be the Owl City “Good Time” of Train’s career. A song that’s everywhere, catchy, ripe with cliches, and a departure from the hallmarks of the band. While rhyming “Play that song” with “all night long” is pretty gosh-darn cliche, I have to give props to the band (or songwriters?) to coming up with a heckuva catchy melody. I fully expect this song to be everywhere – especially this summer. All things that happened when Adam Young collaborated with Carly Rae Jepsen on “Good Time.” I couldn’t stand the lyrics but, by golly, its a catchy quintessential summer song!

The dance-fest continues with “The Lottery,” where I hear something else I’m not used to hearing alongside Pat Monahan’s voice. Auto-tune. As I write this I’m not sure if this is a misstep or not. I’m all for evolution in the songwriting of bands. The pairing catches me by surprise, but I’m not sure if I don’t like it because I have years of hearing Pat without this effect, or because it truly doesn’t work. When I look at it as a standalone work, it’s not too shabby.

If I’m not mistaking, I think I hear a lyric that goes “you ain’t sweet like aspartame.” At least Pat follows that up by unashamedly proclaiming that he’s in love with a “working girl.” As much as I poke fun at these lyrics, the melody carries the chorus in a warm feel good sort of way.

Getting back to that evolution in songwriting train of thought I embarked on earlier, my brain’s gears are turning as I process “Silver Dollar.” This might be the biggest departure from the classic Train sound I’ve heard yet – yet this might my favorite song I’ve heard on the record up to this point. The production is creative. The drum work is on point. The melody is catchy and unique. And as “Valentine” comes on, I begin to think “Geez Train you sly dogs, you saved the best parts of the record for the backend.” It’s almost like they penned “Play That Song” out of obligation to the radio powers that be and just decided to have fun once they got past that point. Kudos, dudes.

Onto “Loverman” and we’re back to singing about playing songs with a lover. At least the beat is interesting.

I wrote this review as a challenge to myself to try get into some more mainstream pop releases, and I have really mixed feelings about this album. Undoubtedly many critics will just call this album atrocious and call it a day, but I’m not in that mindset. Pop music rarely sets out to be innovative these days. It’s meant to be fun and appealing to the masses and that’s it. That’s what this album accomplishes, with some cringeworthy lyrics along the way. Thankfully, masterful production and an overall sense of fun overrides those moments.

Score: 3/5

 

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