Train - AM Gold
Train
AM Gold
Release Date: May 20th, 2022
Label: Columbia Records
Review by Jared Stossel
To date, Train have released nine studio albums of original material. Their latest offering, AM Gold, falls on the musically calmer side of their catalogue, more attuned to easy-listening summer jams than arena-ready pop anthems like “Drops of Jupiter” and “Hey Soul Sister”, multi-platinum hits that have helped Train ascend the ranks of pop-rock stardom. And that’s not a slam; AM Gold is a great album, filled with at-times somber lyrics that contrast the upbeat nature of the music. While there are deeper moments that find vocalist Pat Monahan exploring past love and loss, AM Gold is an album that was perfectly made for breezy summer nights, moments where you just feel like dancing, and those days where you just miss that someone.
The album jumps around and finds the band playing with various pop subgenres, ranging from songs that are inspired by Motown (“AM Gold”), reggae (“Singing Alone”), and even country (“Ain’t No Easy Way”). The album’s title track, along with the Sofía Reyes collaboration “Cleopatra” represent two standout moments in the band’s discography, producing some of Train’s most dance-inducing tracks that will surely see people dancing through the aisles of amphitheaters and arenas this summer. “Bettin’ On Me” is a chilled out soul-pop track that could have come straight from Drops of Jupiter, while tracks like “Running Back (Trying To Talk To You) “ and “Fake Flowers” bring forth deeper, reflective moments, with Monahan trying to make sense of the disintegration of a past love. On tracks that feature this kind of lyrical content, the music is always calmer, a little bit darker, and a contrast to the brighter moments throughout AM Gold.
“Turn The Radio Up” finds Train teaming up with Jewel for an instant pop-hit, one that I’m sure they’ll be performing each night on their current summer tour (you can find tickets here, by the way). “Amber Light” is one of AM Gold’s best tracks, with the title alone conjuring memories of sunsets and summer flings that are now just a distant memory. “Easy On The Eyes” is one of the album’s more upbeat love song entries, with Monahan singing about how even though someone may be gone from your life, it doesn’t mean that love just disappears (Each time you’re gone longer/But my heart just grows fonder/You’re easy on the eyes/But hard on the heart).
AM Gold concludes with “It’s Everything”, an excellent closer filled with some of the album’s best lyrics (“Sailin’ on the moody blue/Findin’ stars that look like you/Knowin’ that you would never leave me all alone/Will bills to pay with my heart”). The full band does kick in throughout the song, but this is Monahan’s moment to shine, the instrumentation from the backing band only serving to highlight the acoustic guitar line and the sadness in his words. While these aren’t of the epic pop nature that Train fans have been accustomed to on past catalogue entries, there is indeed something to the songs on AM Gold. It’s a reflection of the love in our lives, the moments that mean the most to us, the ones that will stay with us even when we’re old and grey.
Train
www.savemesanfrancisco.com
www.facebook.com/Train
Twitter: @train
Instagram: @train
