Train – Drink Up

“Elements for a great track are there, but somehow it’s just not right.”

Tim: Presenting, for your enjoyment, the least Train song that Train have ever released.

Tom: I… don’t know if that’s a good thing?

Tim: Well, have a listen and find out.

Tom: That’s a great introduction. Seriously, I was actually disappointed when the first verse dropped everything back to normal.

Tim: You say normal, but really nothing sounds like Train in this. Instrumentation, way out. Shouting in the chorus, nope. The backing woo-oos, what? And even, somehow, the vocal sounds unusual, although they might just be in comparison with the backing.

Tom: Yep: when I listen it’s clearly the same singer, but the recognisable edge to the voice seems to go.

Tim: Maybe there’s a bit at the start of the middle eight that’s familiar, but otherwise it could be a whole other band. I suppose it’s just a shame, then, that it’s not a particularly great song, or at least for me.

Tom: I mean, that’s Train through and through: the song doesn’t really mean anything, there’s no depth to the lyrics, but there’s nothing particularly wrong with it either.

Tim: Somehow I struggle to get a hand on it, nothing quite grabs me like I want it to. Elements for a great track are there, but somehow it’s just not right.

Tom: Exemplified, I think, by that middle eight: there’s a lovely melody lurking underneath that shouting. On their own either element might work, but together it’s just confusing. A bit like that video, really: generic stock footage that doesn’t remotely match the video. How strange.