Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Making powerfully melodic but strongly rhythmic rock which mixes '50s rockabilly with a chunky '60s surf guitar sound courtesy of Jordan, This Train deserve to break big time with 'Mimes Of The Old West'. The lyrically self deprecating humour of former Ragamuffin Mark Robertson alone makes this a totally cool experience. "We're Getting Nowhere (Fast)" is the perfect anthem for this slacker generation band but unfortunately it's going to turn out a false prophecy because there is so much good stuff to be discovered here. It isn't all fun and games here, though, the powerful "I Don't Want To Know" is a prompt to our consciences to be compassionate towards the poor while "The Wailing Wall" seriously swings without missing a punchy lyrical beat! "Who's Stopping You" features a duet from Ashley Cleveland giving it some serious soul and "I Saw The Light" is the old Hank Williams song given a rip roaring interpretation. This Train manage to create a huge buoyant rockabilly beach sound on the superbly humorous title cut. More sobering, the late Rich Mullins wrote "A Million Years" which features a wonderful vibe, poetic lyrics and background vocals from Mullins himself on what was his last recording session. This is poignant when it was Rich himself who so strongly encouraged Mark to get the band off the ground. Earthy swinging rock'n'roll which is able to be funny and poignant simultaneously is a wonderful rarity but now I've found it, I'm hoping this is one band who'll soon make it to these shores because I bet they're even hotter live!!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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