After pushing back the release of her third album to add more songs, Meghan Trainor married the man of her dreams. Having not released any studio recordings since her sophomore album Thank You, Trainor decided to release a new EP to capture this love-filled period of her life. Her new EP, The Love Train, narrates her love story, and even includes the track she walked down the aisle to. This EP has some of the most inspired tracks she’s ever released and definitely bodes well for what is to come.
Trainor describes the songs on this EP as being a sample of what her next album is going to sound like. She sticks to her signature throwback-infused pop that she’s been writing since the beginning, this time allowing herself to indulge exclusively in love songs. Tracks like “I’m Down” and “All the Ways” were heavily influenced by ABBA, and are total ear-worms but with solid enough lyrics that you don’t mind if they’re trapped in your head for days.
“All The Ways” is the first song in the EP as well as the only song meant for Treat Myself that was previously released. The lyrics are a fun play on words that was inspired by an actual conversation with her fiancé. It’s a solid single and if you liked her music before, you’ll probably love this.
The sweet ukulele ballad, “Marry Me,” Trainor boldly wrote a month into her relationship with former spy kid, Daryl Sabara. The song ended up being the music that Trainor walked down the aisle to.
Easily the best track on the EP, “I’m Down” is a large dance hall number you can visualize dancing to at the next wedding reception. It has a big chorus that is impossible to get out of your head and is so fun you don’t want to get it out of your head.
“After You,” a ballad that sounds inspired by a John Legend track, ties Trainor’s simplicity as a lyricist to the complex emotions that come with love. It’s a strong ballad that captures the feeling of devotion and showcases Trainor’s abilities as a vocalist.
“Foolish” is another dance friendly track that describes Trainor’s the willingness to free-fall into love. It takes a minute to build, but once it picks up, you’re in. Friends and family at the Trainor-Sabara wedding actually contributed footage from the reception to the music video.
For the concluding track on the EP, Trainor included her father, Gary Trainor. “Good Morning” sounds like it was loosely inspired by The Lion King soundtrack but stands on its own as a song to sing along to in the car. It’s a feel-good track that ties the whole body of work together.
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Writing lighthearted pop is where the “All About That Bass” singer excels— she’s never been an artist who is going to have you overthinking every word she puts in a song and this body of work is no different. It captures the simplicity of the ideal, true love of fairy tales without including the bumps in the road that come with real life. The Love Train includes poppy confessions of love like “I’m Down” and “Foolish” that capture the feeling that you would happily give up everything for object of your affection. This new EP stands out as Trainor’s most solid body of work as all of the songs are enjoyable. There is enough variety sonically to keep you interested and it’s perfect thematically for the holiday it was released near.
Part of Meghan Trainor’s charm as an artist is the simplicity of her songs. She doesn’t try to overcomplicate her music in order to impress people who probably don’t really like her stuff anyway. This new EP is Meghan Trainor at her best. It’s filled with personal anecdotes and highlights Trainor’s best qualities as a songwriter. The Love Train is perfect for the starry-eyed hopeless romantic on Valentine’s Day. It’s fun, romantic, and simplifies feelings that humans can tend to have a habit of over-complicating.
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