''A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat'' (stylized as ''a girl a bottle a boat'') is the tenth studio album by American rock band

Train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

, released on January 27, 2017, through

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. It is the band's first album without guitarist and founding member Jimmy Stafford (whose departure makes vocalist

Pat Monahan Patrick Monahan (born February 28, 1969) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead singer and sole constant member of the band Train. He has also collaborated with multiple artists and has recorded a solo album, '' Last of Seven''. ...

the last original member to remain), as well as their last with drummer Drew Shoals.

Background

The first single " Play That Song" was released on September 29, 2016. To promote the lead single, they were featured at a Holiday Jam concert for New York City's local radio station

WNEW-FM WNEW-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary-Radio format, formatted radio station, City of license, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy faci ...

(also known as Fresh 102.7) at the

Hammerstein Ballroom The Hammerstein Ballroom is a ballroom located within the Manhattan Center at 311 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The capacity of the ballroom is dependent on the configuration of the room; it seats 2,000 people for theat ...

in Midtown Manhattan.

Promotion

The band promoted the album on the Play That Song Tour, which ran from May 12, 2017 to July 15, 2017 in the United States. The tour then continued overseas, beginning with Germany on October 12, 2017 and October 13, 2017, shortly followed by the United Kingdom from October 16, 2017 to October 23, 2017, along with the Netherlands and Ireland later in October 2017.

Critical reception

Since its release, ''A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat'' has received mixed reviews among critics.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

gave the album a positive review, claiming that ''A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat'' is "an exuberant album, a celebration of everything that makes Train such a corny band. The hooks are big, the production is so glossy that it shines, and it's so cheerful it's bound to irritate anybody who isn't on the band's wavelength. If you're with them, though, ''a girl a bottle a boat'' is a good time because of its eagerness to please."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart on its first week of release, making it Train's sixth album to chart in the top 10. It sold 30,000 copies in the United States in its first week. It also debuted at No. 5 for Australian Albums (ARIA) and at No. 13 for UK Albums (OCC).

Track listing

Notes * signifies an additional producer * "Lottery" contains a sample of "Volcano Song" by

the Budos Band The Budos Band is an American instrumental band from Staten Island, New York, formed in 2005. AllMusic describes the group as a "doom rock Afro-soul big band with a '70s touch" that joins "musical universes from trippy psychedelia and Afro-funk ...

. * "Silver Dollar" contains a sample of "

Some of These Days "Some of These Days" is a popular song, written and composed by Shelton Brooks, published in 1910, and associated with the performer Sophie Tucker. Background Shelton Brooks and "Some of These Days" was brought to Sophie Tucker's attention in ...

", written by

Shelton Brooks Shelton Brooks (May 4, 1886September 6, 1975) was a Canadian-born American composer and performer of popular music and jazz. He was known for his ragtime and vaudeville style, and wrote some of the biggest hits of the first third of the 20th cent ...

and performed by

Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...

Personnel

Train *

– lead vocals *

Jerry Becker Train is an American pop rock band from San Francisco that formed in 1993. As of 2025, the band consists of Pat Monahan (lead vocals), Taylor Locke (guitar, vocals), Hector Maldonado (bass, vocals), Jerry Becker (keyboards, guitar), and Matt Mu ...

– keyboards, guitar * Hector Maldonado – bass *Drew Shoals – drums *Luis Maldonado – guitar Additional musicians *

Jake Sinclair Jake Tony Sinclair (born 29 November 1994) is an English footballer who plays as a forward for Mangotsfield United. He has played professionally for Southampton and Hibernian. Career Sinclair joined Southampton at the academy level at the ...

– guitar, bass, percussion, keyboards, background vocals *

William Wiik Larsen William Wiik Larsen, also known as Will IDAP and Nasty kutt is a Norwegian Grammy-nominated record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based out of Los Angeles, California. He has crafted several global and US hits. Notable records incl ...

– guitar, bass, percussion, keyboards,

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

* Neff-U – keyboards *Max Schneider – vocals *

Ilsey Juber Ilsey Anna Juber (, ; born April 17, 1986) is a British American singer and professional songwriter from Los Angeles, California. Before releasing her debut album ''From the Valley'' in 2023, Juber co-wrote songs for popular artists such as Bey ...

– vocals *

Suzy Shinn Suzanne Lyn Shinn (born December 20, 1994) is an American producer, songwriter, and engineer based in Los Angeles. Shinn majored in music production and engineering at Berklee College of Music. She is known for her work with Panic! at the Disco, ...

– vocals Technical *Mike Endert – mixing *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...

– mastering *Doug Johnson – mixing assistance *Suzy Shinn – engineering (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9) *Taylor Carroll – engineering (tracks 2, 11) *Celso Estrada – engineering (track 3) *William Larsen – engineering (tracks 5, 7, 10) Visuals *

Brendan Walter Brendan Stuart Walter (born June 16, 1986) is an American film maker, photographer, musician, and music video and commercial director. He was also the lead guitarist of Valencia. Biography Walter was born on June 16, 1986 in Philadelphia, Penns ...

– photography *Jade Ehlers – photography

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girl, A Bottle, A Boat, A 2017 albums Albums produced by Ajay Bhattacharya Albums produced by Jake Sinclair (musician) Albums produced by Theron Feemster Columbia Records albums Train (band) albums