(Indie) Steel Train - Steel Train - 2010, MP3 (tracks), 320 kbps

After leaving major league indie label Drive-Thru Records in August 2009, Steel Train set out on their own and formed their own record label, Terrible Thrills to release their third full-length album. The New Jersey-bred band has always been well received critically, but hasn’t yet reached that zenith of popularity that their brand of quirky pop-rock strives to attain. On their junior full-length, the biggest question is whether this album will propel them to the strata where they belong or if Steel Train will continue to languish at opening band status.
As if the band knew that this would be the question on most critic's minds, Steel Train answers by opening the album with their strongest song yet. “Bullets” opens with layers of wall-of-sound guitars, hearty backing vocals, and xylophones, bringing to mind the best moments of Bruce Springsteen’s masterpiece Born to Run. In this version of Born to Run lead vocalist Jack Antonoff matches the Boss’s impassioned and cool vocals with an exuberant warble that brings to mind the most ecstatic moments of The Arcade Fire. As if to match these landmark artists, Steel Train even drops all instrumentation in the bridge except for vocals and xylophones before building back up into a massive mid-tempo rock and roll concluding chorus.
It’s relatively simple rock and roll songs like this where Steel Train is at their best. “Behaviour” utilizes a deceptively simple melody to catch your attention, and then uses it throughout the track to drill a hole in your head where it won’t leave, but you don’t mind because it is so pretty. Steel Train uses basic rock structures, riffs and melodies in “Children of the 90’s” to create what would already be a great song, but they add just enough ferocity and studio magic to turn it into something truly special. “You and I Undercover” is far and away the most accomplished song on the album, with the vocals showing a vulnerable underbelly to Antonoff’s strident voice, and the simple main melody has the unexplainable quality of making this listener feel nostalgic for better times the first time they hear it.
When you get away from these simpler songs that pull from classic tropes, you meet a different Steel Train who are more reminiscent of OK Go or a happier Modest Mouse. The angular guitars, dancing drums, varied back-up vocals (which do everything from harmonizing to shouting to just random interjections) and frantic and sometimes sassy lead vocals drive most of the other songs on the album. While it is often interesting to try to figure out where these songs will go next, this style has a hard time creating a compelling song. While the freaked out “Turnpike Ghost” and moog-tastic “You are Dangerous” are fun listens, songs like “The Speedway Motor Racer Club” and “Soldier in the Army” have too many ideas going on, none of which are that great. “Bloody Lips” and “Fall Asleep” are nice quiet songs that put a good finishing touch on the album, proving that Steel Train can write a nice layered song when they figure out how to grow up and calm down.
On this self-titled album, Steel Train has proven two things: 1) they can write some great, timeless pop-rock songs with gorgeous melodies and enough dynamics to grab any listener, and 2) that sometimes they need to calm down and not follow through with every idea that pops in their head. While this album won’t propel them into the mainstream (unless they come up with great music videos that go viral, a-la OK Go), it sets the stage for their next full-length, which could conquer the world if they follow through with their more desirable tendencies.

Steel Train has had a busy year so far, opening for Tegan and Sara, The Fray, playing at Coachella, and planning their first headlining tour in the U.S. (check out tour dates here). Top that off with a brand new album releasing on June 29th and it’s safe to say the guys have had a stellar 2010.
On their self-titled album the track “Fall Asleep,” features intelligent lyrics and a beautiful piano melody that pulls the vocals together to create an intellectual daydream. Violins give off a distinct sense of the graduation song, which works nicely with the sort of coming of age theme of the lyrics. The song fits in perfectly with the fans of The Fray, with what I would say is a much more interesting, classical sound, but in the same vein musically.
“S.O.G. Burning in Hell” is a summery little song with upbeat sing-a-long style vocals and light, crisp guitars, energetic drums, and catchy, hip-shaking percussion…it’s possible that I’m having a couch-dance party right now as I’m reviewing it. This is certainly one of my favorites on the album.
“Touch Me Bad” starts off sounding like an Atari game then quickly transfers over to a bouncy Disney Channel-style song (you know, if Disney were a little bit edgy…Disney for 16-18 year olds, perhaps). Is this a good thing? Well, I suppose it depends on your mood; it certainly has a happy, optimistic sound that could restore energy after a long day, or annoy the shit out of you if you were trying to chill out after said day. Today happens to be of the latter sort for me, so I’ll try and be fair and say, “totally depends on your mood!”
“Turnpike Ghost,” reminds listeners of Modest Mouse mixed up with Of Montreal, with off-kilter vocals and some fun power-choruses. This super high-energy song is followed up by “You and I Undercover,” a melancholic song happily infused with hope and light. I could absolutely see this song on an indie romance movie soundtrack—think “(500) Days of Summer.”
A few songs on the album—“Behavior” and “Bloody Lips” seem a bit light compared to the others, in terms of both lyrics and music. The steam that was built up by the rest of the album was slowly let out with these two and I found myself decidedly less enthusiastic about what was to come. Luckily, these are complimented with songs like “Bullet,” strangely reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen and, yes, I’ll say it…Bob Seger. This throwback works oddly well with the rest of the album and combines with the more modern-sound of the vocals to create a comprehensive, multi-layered pop album.
Overall, Steel Train’s new record consists of sunshiny pop, one shouldn’t call it bubblegum though, I’d like to refer to it as “Pop Rocks” music – pop with just a little pleasant jolt of sensory stimulation. However, do feel free to listen to this album while ingesting carbonated beverages and I promise that your stomach will not explode (This statement is not based on medical tests, nor is it supported by the FDA. Please note that TheyWillRockYou suggests consulting a doctor before listening to any new albums).