One of the perks of living in the East Coast is being privileged to have the opportunity to watch many bands grow from playing their hearts out in crammed VFW halls to gaining huge followings and making long-lasting impacts on their devoted listeners. Formed in 2011, Cross Town Train is a devoted band who is completely ready to leave its mark on New Jersey's coveted pop-punk historical archives this year with the positively-fueled momentum from the release of their full-length, Short Stories.
One of the most captivating and jaw-dropping characteristics about this release is how the first half of this record transitions from a more melodic and lighter sound, leading into a darker and grim perspective on growing up and living an honest life with your heart on your sleeve. Both of these interesting transitions can be identified best from both their singles "My Pinkerton" and "Cold Coffee".
"My Pinkerton" is a song that combines a lighter and melodic sound with honest and relatable lyrics that convey the overwhelming struggles of balancing the weight of the world; particularly during your college years. Some listeners who have felt like they've been hanging on by loose threads during their semesters away at school can find themselves clinging to a song like "My Pinkerton", a song that belts out lyrics like, "I'm fucking up on everything, I'm starting to get sick/I smoke too many cigarettes, I'm failing all my shit" and "College life ruined all of my dreams/Ripped them from my head and tore them from the seams", easily. It brings out the message that even if college is an experimentally exciting yet overwhelming stepping stone that eats away through young adults, nobody ever deals with these struggles of inadequacy alone.
"Cold Coffee", on the other hand, is a darker narrative that paints the picture of a tragic story between a girl and boy who are moving on with their lives, apart from one another. Cutting through your heartstrings is a haunting verse that cracked by lead vocalist Eoin Wenger, "But in the end, she's okay, and he's alright/They'll never feel great, but that's just life". When listening to "Cold Coffee" for the first time, listeners could easily identify the immediate parallels this song shares with dark and emotion-driven songwriting stylings of Dan "Soupy" Campbell of The Wonder Years.
Along with these two stellar tracks to showcase the true potential that Cross Town Train brings to the table, there are many other standalone tracks on this record that will leave many listeners weak at the knees. For instance, songs like "Red Floral Dress" and "Hell Is A Six-Letter Word" are deep cuts on Short Stories that reel in listeners with its explosive melody and powerfully-conveyed emotions; characteristics that definitely capture the true essence of CTT's writing style for this record. Since the first half of this release appears to cling to a lighter sound, while the tail of the record is blending together with more dark and emotionally melodic driven tracks, both of these characteristics can be identified quite well in these particular songs. This dynamic definitely gives the band an edge by keeping listeners on the edge of their seats.
Above all, Cross Town Train's Short Stories showcases honest and emotion-driven songs that capture the chronological moments during each transitional phase of the song's protagonist. You can tell from each melody and lyric from these songs that Cross Town Train has put its entire being into crafting together this record. By showcasing all of their heart and energy into this release, Short Stories is a beautifully-crafted album that emulates a distinct sound that could be reflected best from their influences. With a Wonder Years heart combining forces with a mindset of Your Favorite Weapon-era Brand New, Cross Town Train is raising the bar for aspiring New Jersey bands who are currently building and maintaining a strong and sincere music community on their own.
Tracklist:
1. Facing Forwards
2. My Pinkerton
3. Red Floral Dress
4. Study Hall
5. This Distance Thing Is Getting To Me
6. It's Accepted
7. Cold Coffee
8. Hell Is A Six-Letter Word
9. Lightheaded
10. Seventeen
11. Ship Wrecks
12. New York; Take Two
RIYL: Suburbia… by The Wonder Years, Doubt by Giants At Large, Your Favorite Weapon by Brand New
Rating:
Written by Ryan McGrath
