By AARON KREIN
Arts Editor
Starting off new music in 2017, the first major album release comes from adult contemporary radio favorite Train. “A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat” is their tenth studio album, coming almost 20 years after their first.
They are one of the few bands from the ‘90s, along with Green Day debatably, that continuously releases commercial hits for the radio, although their last album, “Bulletproof Picasso,” was not as successful single-wise as previous releases like “Save Me. San Francisco” and the criminally underrated “California 37.”
With slow steam building up for their return, Train offers a new album of memorable mid-tempos, inspirational anthems and a few risks and blunders in between.
The album kicks off with “Drink Up,” which has a DNCE “Cake By The Ocean” vibe to it in several ways.
Along with the shouting chant of the chorus and a disco-esque beat, the song uses alcohol as a metaphor for living life. The lyric, “I got memories on tap, drink up,” perfectly sums up the song.
It’s a fun way to open the album and is sort of reminiscent of their fan favorite, “This Will Be My Year.”
The first single from the album, “Play That Song,” is honestly one of the major misfires of their career and why I initially held off on listening to this album. The sampling of Larry Clinton’s 1938 standard “Heart and Soul” with the overly simplistic lyrics makes the song incredibly dull especially when heard on AC radio.
Pat Monahan, the lead singer, pleads that his ex plays the song that they heard when they fell in love so she would come crawling back to him.
I wasn’t a fan of “Angel in Blue Jeans” from the last album but at least that lead single was tolerable. The single has been underperforming and I’m unfortunately not surprised.
The following track, “The News,” is a continuation of a heartbroken Monahan but this time, he pleads his ex to “turn on the news” and see how he’s become crazy without her.
What makes this track better than the previous is the pop-reggae beat with impressive background vocals throughout the chorus.
Monahan’s delivery of “baby” has so much soul it makes me want to hear that part of the chorus on a loop.
The caribbean-esque foot stomper, “Lottery,” compares the company of their lover to winning a big surplus of money. It continues the metaphor aspect but suffers from being too short with a runtime of just over two minutes and 30 seconds.
Like “Feels Good at First,” it’s another song from the band that deserves another verse or two.
“Working Girl” showcases Monahan’s support for his lover, who brings home the bacon in the household.
The song supports women who have professional careers and really shows the dynamic of one of the many 21st century relationships that are out there.
Despite having a lackluster “pop drop” like many hits of last year, this track should be pushed to radio pronto. The lyrics of the chorus are an irresistible earworm and definitely one of the standouts from the album.
With an incredible horn section and hip-hop beat reminiscent of circa-2006 Mary J. Blige, “Silver Dollar” is the biggest risk of the album.
Unlike the majority of the tracks, it doesn’t seem to pull from current hits and even seems a tad dated with its R&B/hip-hop influence.
However, it’s refreshing and it reminds me of the “California 37” era when they experimented with all kinds of sounds.
With a hard-to-follow message, it seemed as though Monahan describes how money isn’t everything, but if you have it, you should spend the majority on your lover.
Whether that is the case or not, I could totally see this as being a hit this summer with the likes of past hits such as “50 Ways to Say Goodbye.”
“Valentine” is an on-going reiteration of Monahan’s loyalty to his girlfriend and how he would never lie to her.
Just like “The News,” Monahan and the background vocals save this over-vapid track from being a skip. It’s a not a bad song by any means but it isn’t anything new and could’ve been the same whether sung by Train, OneRepublic or the Plain White T’s.
Starting off with a beat similar to Jessie J, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj’s 2014 hit, “Bang Bang,” Monahan explains his loneliness without his lover on the weekend with “What Good is Saturday.”
The layering of beats with Monahan’s gently paced delivery of the chorus make the song seem euphoric and irresistible. In a sense, it’s lyrically the same as Shontelle’s 2008 hit, “T-Shirt,” but instead it’s from the boyfriend’s perspective.
This would be one of the tracks on this album more than likely to make their next tour setlist and possibly as a summer single.
“Loverman” sees the album’s only collaboration with R&B singer/songwriter Priscilla Renea. The track, unlike the one preceding, illustrates both sides of a relationship and how they can’t wait to reunite by the end of the night.
The bridge of the track sung by Monahan has a nice build but Renae’s chorus, perhaps unintentionally, sounds similar to the traditional schoolyard ditty “I Know a Song That Gets On Everybody’s Nerves.”
It’s real apparent and once you make the association, there’s no going back.
The anthemic “Lost and Found” salutes the people and memories a part of one’s lives past and present. The groove throughout the track results in the swinging of hips and uncontrollable head-nodding.
Even though this isn’t an area that hasn’t already been explored, you could totally hear this track being in commercial or a motivational scene in a movie.
The lasting memorability of the song’s structure of the lyrics and production make it another must-listen and single contender.
Now by this point you may be thinking that there isn’t a single ballad on this album. If you’ve listened to previous albums from Train, you know they usually have a handful to go along with their usual mid-tempo tracks.
However, on “A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat,” they leave the only ballad to close the set with “You Better Believe.” Monahan passes on his advice from his father to continue to believe in yourself despite many obstacles and tragedies in the way.
He further encourages that “even when you don’t believe, I won’t be far.” It touches the heartstrings and continues the motivational resonance of the previous track.
Even though it’s one of my favorite tracks on the album, after the two-minute mark, the chanting of “you better believe” seems a bit clunky.
However, after repeated listens, the nitpick becomes forgivable and the track nevertheless ends the album on a solid note.
Overall, I thought the album was average among their discography. It was better than their last effort but not up there with “Wake Me, San Francisco” and “California 37.”
If you like their previous music, by all means, I would recommend this album. If you are into adult contemporary radio and into the kinds of tracks you hear from Andy Grammer, Gavin DeGraw and OneRepublic, I would highly recommend this album.
For a nice road trip, like their previous albums, this set does wonders and a sing-a-long will surely ensue.
