JOHN TRAIN
Jon Houlon -Guitar,Vocals
Mike Brenner-Dobro
Steve Demarest-Bass
Mark Tucker-Steel Guitar
Bill Fergusson-Mandolin
'Looks Like Up' is John Train's second album.It was released in 2001 and produced by Mike Brenner.This critically acclaimed five piece Philadelphia-area band plays a unique blend of country,folk,and bluegrass.
"On the sophomore album by this Philadelphia folksy-country fivesome,singer-songwriter Jon Houlon steps confidently into his own...The growth spurt is most evident,though,in Houlon's songs and the easygoing,conversational way he sings them.Dissapointment and despair are elucidated with mordant wit and telling detail."
Dan DeLuca
Philadelphia Inquirer
"The magic of those Wednesday nights has been beautifully documented on 'Looks Like Up',John Train's second release on local indie label Record Cellar.Houlon's bittersweet musings about past love and ruminations on the examined life are punctuated by top-notch playing and Brenner's flourishes."
Phil Sheridan
No Depression
"And such songs!Houlon is a smart lyricist wielding words like weapons and weaving words like fine tapestry."
Shaun Dale
Cosmikdebis.com
"...the songs of John Train swell like an accidental fat-lip-sorta painful,sorta funny and a metaphor,really,for everything to do with love.The group's second record,Looks Like Up(Record Cellar) ...both ups the ante of Houlon's songwriting and expands the group's sonic palate...It's a little bit Tom T. Hall and a whole lotta John Prine."
Joey Sweeney
Philadelphia Weekly
Jon Houlon lyrically inflicts up his razor sharp wit through and through with the balance of the CD being held together by the tight unit of Brenner,Demarest,Tucker,and Fergusson sculpting for the listener a virtual twang-grass soundscape."
AlternativeCountry.com
"John Train will stand out,even in days like these when everybody wants to be in a country rock band."
Maurice Dielsmans
Kindamuzik.net
"Oddly enough,there's even more major and minor arcana that crop up throughout 'Looks Like Up',and
although it seems slightly schitzophrenic,John Train manages to blend all of these crosscurrents into a cohesive sonic presentation."
Brian Baker
Amplifier Magazine
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