Pop Rock.
Whatever happened to the big pop-rock song? Sure, now we have the Arctic Monkeys spitting genius colloquialisms amidst a sea of beautifully produced cacophonic guitar-noise and it’s all very cool and credible, but go on, admit it, you loved Train’s ‘Drops of Jupiter’, didn’t you?! You even forgave them that despicable line about “deep fried chicken”, for those glorious opening chords or that God-awful end to the middle-eight, “the best soy latte you ever had”, for those sweeping violins, which, in everybody’s head at least, were actually played by the girls in the video.
Well, for those who love their anthemic pop-rock complete with orchestral flourishes sans dodgy takeaway lyrics, Jim Kroft is the man for you. ‘One Sees the Sun’ is a rock song moulded out of pure pop perfection and throws in every trick in the book to guarantee maximum radio airplay, including a palm-muted riff leading into a gigantic chorus followed by a cock-rock solo to humble Richie Sambora and even a string-heavy coda to play out the final strains of this perfectly crafted hit-in-the-making.
The B-side, ‘Birthrights’ proves that he is no one hit wonder either, (sorry Train, we all thought those leather trousers would work too). The urgent stutter of an acoustic guitar supporting a sing-a-long verse, before the chorus hook buries itself deep inside your head, not to be pushed out until Train’s comeback tour... come on boys, you can do it!