Upon first listen, Steel Train seems to want to sit in the same musical genre as Vampire Weekend and other indie upstarts of that ilk, but then the music cuts away from such definition with its crunchy guitars, hammering drum hits and very warm, analog-style production. The album (the first on the band’s recently created label, Terrible Thrills) jets out of the speakers with “Bullet,” with its soaring lyrics that can easily be imagined to be the closing song at their Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza gigs, replete with crowd fists pumping in the air. Then, each subsequent track holds it own—a story to be told within the space of three minutes on average—the transition between each is seamless; it feels like you’re moving on to the chapter of a book, with new characters introduced, plot twists, etc., but it all makes sense within the whole. And much like the band Muse, this album is meant to be re-created onstage; I can’t wait to check them out live.
Must Plays: “Behavior,”“Turnpike Ghost”
Producer/Engineer/Mixer: Steven McDonald. Mixer: Mark Trombino (tracks 1, 5, 6 and 8). Masterign: Doug Sax and Eric Boulanger.
