Send "Steel Train " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Boston |
 Steel Train is among those bands whose members weaned in the ’90s and are now busting out their coming-of-age anthems. The band handles the job well on its new self-titled album, capturing the angst and uncertainty of young adulthood with freshly rendered details. The songs burrow into scenes of tentative maturity, offering lyrics torn between nursery-rhyme frivolity and declarations of defiance. Songwriter and singer Jack Antonoff’s nervousness about his future may not be a new malady, but the way he sings about his position on the verge of freaking out certainly entertains. The band’s punk-pop pedigree prevents the album from sinking into bouts of self-absorption or outright despair, and Steel Train’s broad view yields a nice variety of songs: There’s the gilded ballad “Behavior,’’ the tweaked glam of “Turnpike Ghost,’’ and the legit arena shaker “Bullet.’’ The only misstep is an occasional echo of Vampire Weekend, which is bound to draw sneers. The New Jersey quintet has often erred on the side of audacious, and keeps it up here with songs that employ string sections, singalong choruses, falsetto vocals, and searing guitar solos — devices that will hook listeners onto these stories of personal tumult. Fortunately, there is substance beneath the sheen. (Out now.) SCOTT McLENNAN...full text |
| Avclub |
| Steel Train’s influences have always felt just a step behind the times. Debuting in 2005 on Drive-Thru, the band welded that label’s pop-punk brand with an adult-alternative style that Jason Mraz had launched a mere three years earlier; their last album, 2007’s Trampoline, got all theatrical-indie-rocky three years after Arcade Fire introduced the sound. Now, two years behind New Jersey brethren The Gaslight Anthem, Steel Train takes Boss-inspired punk revivalism cues for its new self-titled record. But the best thing about the band is that it’s never let any of these influences go—everything it’s ever tossed in the sonic pot is still floating around in there and bubbling up to the surface, making the songs welcomingly unpredictable, even when occasional moments feel stale. The resulting musical blends at least deserve credit for their novelty: “You Are Dangerous” sounds like the E Street Band gone emo, while “Touch Me Bad” uses driving guitars and synths to create a frenetic mini-epic that could have come from Win Butler. But the band is at its absolute best when there’s too much going on to even notice reference points, exemplified on “Soldier In The Army.” Instantly catchy with a soaring, fun chorus, the song mixes arena-rocking chants, electronic dance beats, and mariachi-ish horn breaks for a standout track that’s attributable to nothing but gifted, original songwriting....full text |
| Spin |
| The third album from New Jersey’s Steel Train is a textbook example of how to use splashy arrangements and high-octane performances to enhance tepid material. In milder hands, Jack Antonoff’s songs would be tedious emo fodder, the generic musings of a guy who claims he’d risk life itself for love. But Antonoff’s sweet, breathless voice, boosted by jagged guitars and clattering percussion, creates the thrilling—albeit, brief—illusion of volatile emotions about to erupt. “Fall Asleep,” a touching piano-and-strings ballad that closes the BUY: iTunes Amazon album, moves in a welcome, less frenetic direction....full text |
Steel Train lyrics
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