Sixteen Days // Racing Trains

Daniel Balcombe
Sep 6, 2017
2 min read

Song: Racing Trains Band: Sixteen Days Record: If It Makes You Less Sad Location: Sydney, Australia Date of release: 21/07/2017 Genre: Pop Punk/Indie Reviewer: Daniel Balcombe For Fans Of: Brand New, Jimmy Eat World, Gyroscope, Modern Baseball, blink-182

'Thinking back on what you said, I try not to think to much, I tend to think too much'

Sixteen Days are a up and coming Aussie band that brings talented songwriting, raw energy and emotion through their Debut EP 'If It Makes You Less Sad' and their debut single, 'Racing Trains'.

The first thing you'll notice about the debut single 'Racing Trains' is the sweet production quality, with all instruments cutting through nicely and allowing the vocals to shine through. The song begins with a nice little guitar riff reminiscent of a Jimmy Eat World song and then it breakdowns when the vocals kick in for the verse, straight away I'm reminded of the Aussie band Gyroscope with Jesse Lacy thrown in for good measure. The song continues to flow nicely from the mellow verse to the pre-chours build up with some very blink 182 style drumming then the chorus explodes with some backing harmonies over the already layered lead vocals, my only criticism is I wish the lead vocals went up a level, I'm thinking a Jesse Lacy like scream would be perfect, but hey, there's a reason there is only one Jesse Lacy right?

I LOVE the bridge. When I first heard it I forgot I wasn't listening to Blink 182, I love the drums throughout the whole track, but the Bridge especially along with the guitar work, really REALLY works and I loved it. The song finishes with some nice instrumental work again by the guitars and rings out, leaving me wanting so much more and even going through my stack of old CD's to pull out Jimmy Eat Worlds 'Bleed American' and be a 18 year old kid again (which is a good thing). The lyrics are simple, but relatable as we all get caught up in our own thoughts and play out the worst possible situations, even when they are unrealistic.

My overall impression of 'Racing Trains' is a slight nostalgic one with the echoes of bands I used to listen to a lot more then I do now, but also a feeling of relief knowing that the younger lads within the Aussie Music Scene are not going to let it burn out anytime soon.

Vocals: 7.5/10 Guitars: 8.5/10 Bass: 8/10 Drums: 9.5/10 Production: 810 Lyrics: 7/10 Songwriting: 8/10 Personal Enjoyment: 9/10