This Train
Chicago, Illinois12 reviews across 3 releases
This Train was a Chicago Christian rock band formed around Mark Robertson's backlog of songs written between 1986 and 1992. Its early sound joined old-time rockabilly to power pop, post-punk speed and a deliberately comic view of ordinary life. The 1995 debut You're Soaking in It established the formula: rowdy roots-rock, relationship songs beneath the jokes, and faith stated without losing the band's taste for parody. Mimes of the Old West expanded the palette with surf guitar, acoustic pop and country gospel while keeping humor beside serious spiritual questions. By The Emperor's New Band in 1999, hired horns and stronger swing influences had pushed the group toward jump blues and jazz, though Robertson's satirical writing remained the constant. Songs about mimes, monster trucks and celebrity shared space with worship and mortality.
Beki Hemingway left in spring 1998 to pursue a solo career, and This Train continued as a three-piece with Robertson, guitarist Jordan Richter and drummer Cobra Joe. The band was still performing in 2000, when Robertson described its direction as uncertain rather than planned. Its active period ended around then. Robertson, who had also played with Rich Mullins's Ragamuffin Band, later moved further into roots music as a member of the Legendary Shack Shakers and the Eskimo Brothers, while continuing production work. He formed Prayer Flags in the 2010s. Hemingway continued as a solo artist, and Richter remained associated with recording and engineering work.
3 releases reviewed
You're Soaking in It
