Although, at only 21 minutes in length, Rialto’s second album hardly qualifies as a long player, its quality shines through. Whereas their first self-titled album was a homage to ’60s style glossy, epic pop music, Girl On a Train at least shows they have progressed from the ’60s to the ’80s. Of the 6 songs on offer, only “Anything Could Happen” could have featured on the first album but the remainder sees them move on to Pet Shop Boys electro-pop territory and not without success either.
Indeed, every song here could be a single; the title track is the most immediate but the others all whiff of classy, tuneful pop music topped off with singer Louis Eliot’s crisp, clean expressing lyrics of romantic longing. Slimmed down from 6 members to a four piece, Rialto have proved that they can cut the mustard with a very focused collection of top notch songs. With a bit of luck they could yet be big.
Review appears courtesy of Leonard’s Lair. Written by Jonathan Leonard.