Angels Turned Thieves

Album Review

The Philadelphia group John Train lashes Jon Houlon's sharp, poignant songcraft to folk and country instrumentation (featuring dobro, fiddle, and mandolin). The secret weapons here, however, are the lyrics; in fact, the warm, rootsy sound almost serves as a red herring for Houlon's acute poetical sense. Consider how the unlisted title track spins the tale of Jimmie Rodgers' suffering. The song opens with "Imagine if you will a consumptive young man/Set sail from Galveston to the northland/Downed a shot of whiskey and chewed on a lime/And leaned into the microphone for the last time." It then culminates in a vivid picture of complete dissolution: "The last tour was ugly/They played the worst rooms, his lungs torn to pieces, his voice filled with doom/One night in Dallas he fell to his knees opened his mouth and started to bleed." Angels Turned Thieves reveals John Train as a band to be reckoned with, hitting the listener with ear-pleasing instrumentation and the visceral impact of powerful songwriting.