Friday, January 25, 2008

Review: Steel Train - Trampoline


Label: Drive-Thru Records

Released: October 16, 2007

Trampoline is aptly titled, because the album has a lot of bounce and not the teeny-bopper kind of bounce either. This bounce is the combined force of Steel Train's energy and elasticity. The band's biggest influence is perhaps the Beatles (and who would complain?) and they draw on everything from early jangly pop ("Dakota") to psychedelic experimentation ("A Magazine") to the soulful leanings in the Fab Four's later recordings ("I've Let You Go"). They also hit up U2 and the Clash ("Firecracker" might be a little too close to "Hitsville UK") at times as well. Steel Train even draws just a bit out of arena rock and 90s alt rock to fill their sound out, but not so much as to become generic themselves. Despite clear influences, each song takes off and soars in its own way. Steel Train knows the formula for a very good pop song, but they also know how to tweak the formula just enough to make it their own.

Rating: 6/10

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