A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat (stylized as a girl a bottle a boat) is the tenth studio album by American rock band Train, released on January 27, 2017, through Columbia Records. It is the band's first album without guitarist and founding member Jimmy Stafford (whose departure makes vocalist Pat Monahan the last original member to remain), as well as their last with drummer Drew Shoals.
| A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 27, 2017 | |||
| Recorded | 2015–2016 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Length | 37:09 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Train chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat | ||||
| ||||
Background
editThe first single "Play That Song" was released on September 29, 2016. To promote the lead single, they were featured at a Holiday Jam concert for New York City's local radio station WNEW-FM (also known as Fresh 102.7) at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Midtown Manhattan.[2]
Promotion
editThe band promoted the album on the Play That Song Tour, which ran from May 12, 2017 to July 15, 2017 in the United States.[3] The tour then continued overseas, beginning with Germany on October 12, 2017 and October 13, 2017,[4] shortly followed by the United Kingdom from October 16, 2017 to October 23, 2017,[5] along with the Netherlands and Ireland later in October 2017.[6]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| ABC News |   [7] |
| AllMusic |  [8] |
| Newsday | B−[9] |
| Sputnikmusic | [10] |
Since its release, A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat has received mixed reviews among critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, claiming that A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat is "an exuberant album, a celebration of everything that makes Train such a corny band. The hooks are big, the production is so glossy that it shines, and it's so cheerful it's bound to irritate anybody who isn't on the band's wavelength. If you're with them, though, a girl a bottle a boat is a good time because of its eagerness to please."[8]
Commercial performance
editThe album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on its first week of release, making it Train's sixth album to chart in the top 10. It sold 30,000 copies in the United States in its first week. It also debuted at No. 5 for Australian Albums (ARIA) and at No. 13 for UK Albums (OCC).
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Drink Up" | 3:30 | ||
| 2. | "Play That Song" | William Larsen | 4:03 | |
| 3. | "The News" |
| Sinclair | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Lottery" |
|
| 2:34 |
| 5. | "Working Girl" |
| Larsen | 3:44 |
| 6. | "Silver Dollar" |
|
| 3:01 |
| 7. | "Valentine" |
| Larsen | 3:25 |
| 8. | "What Good Is Saturday" |
|
| 3:44 |
| 9. | "Loverman" (featuring Priscilla Renea) |
|
| 2:41 |
| 10. | "Lost and Found" |
| Larsen | 3:28 |
| 11. | "You Better Believe" |
| Larsen | 3:43 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Ziplock Full of Sunshine" |
| 3:15 |
| 13. | "Crazy Queen" |
| 3:16 |
| Total length: | 43:40 | ||
Notes
- ^[a] signifies an additional producer
- "Lottery" contains a sample of "Volcano Song" by the Budos Band.
- "Silver Dollar" contains a sample of "Some of These Days", written by Shelton Brooks and performed by Cab Calloway.
Personnel
editTrain
- Pat Monahan – lead vocals
- Jerry Becker – keyboards, guitar
- Hector Maldonado – bass
- Drew Shoals – drums
- Luis Maldonado – guitar
Additional musicians
- Jake Sinclair – guitar, bass, percussion, keyboards, background vocals
- William Wiik Larsen – guitar, bass, percussion, keyboards, programming
- Neff-U – keyboards
- Max Schneider – vocals
- Ilsey Juber – vocals
- Suzy Shinn – vocals
Technical
- Mike Endert – mixing
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Doug Johnson – mixing assistance
- Suzy Shinn – engineering (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9)
- Taylor Carroll – engineering (tracks 2, 11)
- Celso Estrada – engineering (track 3)
- William Larsen – engineering (tracks 5, 7, 10)
Visuals
- Brendan Walter – photography
- Jade Ehlers – photography
Charts
edit| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] | 5 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] | 180 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[14] | 10 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] | 61 |
| New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)[16] | 2 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] | 3 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] | 54 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[19] | 13 |
| US Billboard 200[20] | 8 |
References
edit- ^ "a girl a bottle a boat - Train - Credits - AllMusic". Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ "Fresh Holiday Jam 2016 Recap | Photos, Videos & More! « Fresh 102.7". Fresh1027.cbslocal.com. October 28, 2016. Archived from the original on December 9, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
- ^ Train [@Train] (January 19, 2017). "Visiting all of your beautiful cities this summer w/ @ofarevolution & @natashabdnfield on the #PlayThatSongTour! livemu.sc/TrainTour2017" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Train [@Train] (February 20, 2017). "Germany! The #PlayThatSongTour is coming to YOU in October bit.ly/2lmAeX8" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Train [@Train] (February 3, 2017). "UK, you know what time it is! Can't wait to see you all on the #PlayThatSongTour in October. Grab your tickets! po.st/TrainUKTour" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Train [@Train] (February 3, 2017). "Netherlands & Ireland, your tickets are also available now for the #PlayThatSongTour in October! Get them on savemesanfrancisco.com/tour" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Raible, Allan. "Japandroids, Train, Ty Segall and More Music Reviews". ABC News. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "a girl a bottle a boat – Train". AllMusic. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ Gamboa, Glenn. "'A Girl, A Bottle, A Boat' review: Train tries too hard". Newsday. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ^ SowingSeason. "Review: Train - A Girl, A Bottle, A Boat". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- ^ "Train - a girl, a bottle, a boat (Target Exclusive)". Target.
- ^ "Australiancharts.com – Train – A Girl a Bottle a Boat". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Train – A Girl a Bottle a Boat" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
- ^ "Train Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Train – A Girl a Bottle a Boat" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
- ^ "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Train – A Girl a Bottle a Boat". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
- ^ "Train Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 7, 2017.