Soltero: Hell Train

There’s a lot to like about Hell Train. Strong songwriting and solid musicianship make it a rewarding listen.

SOLTERO: HELL TRAIN (Three Ring)

The fourth album from Boston-based four-piece Soltero, Hell Train, is a diverse album, to say the least. With influences from ’60s pop and ’70s folk, Soltero achieves its own brand of pop with a combination of soft, subtle numbers and psychedelic tunes.

Fronted by singer-songwriter Tim Howard and surrounded by a changing cast of collaborators, Soltero has recorded perhaps its most dynamic album. The somewhat subtle feel makes this an album that requires more than one listen. It takes time to take in the album—but that’s not to say the music is so dense that it requires a sizeable attention span, either. More to the point: Listen to it a couple times before deciding if it’s crap or not.

The album starts on a quiet note with “If I Had a Chance.” With elements of only Howard and an acoustic guitar, the opener is longing tune of lost love. That’s followed by “From the Station,” which feels like a folk-tinged Brian Wilson song with catchy harmony and a surreal feel.

“Bleeding Hearts” bends and sways with the soft sounds of Howard and a slide guitar, building into a crescendo of organs, guitars, and percussion. “Step Through the Door” slows things down, using an organ as the backbone of the song. The tune takes a minimalist approach, but the results are really great.

“Hands Up” is, as it sounds, an upbeat, catchy pop song. On “A Single Good Evening,” Howard goes for a dry tone, and backs it up with a combination of alt-country and folk elements. “Songs of the Season” uses more folk elements, this time with some psychedelic effects.

Howard’s strength is his songwriting. Like Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, he’ll have you singing along to some catchy pop tune with some pretty depressing lyrics. On “Ghost at the Foot of the Bed,” he sings of the ghost of a lover dead and gone, but the song is so upbeat, you’d never know.

There’s a lot to like about Hell Train. Strong songwriting and solid musicianship make it a rewarding listen.