It should be somewhat common knowledge by now that Roy includes members and ex-members of Pacific Northwest bands like These Arms Are Snakes, Botch, and Harkonen. What is becoming more apparent is that Brian Cook, Ben and Dave Verellen, and Mike Cooper are genuinely interested in the songwriting they do together for Roy—it may be a side project, but it's not a lark.

            The Tacomatose EP (Initial) and the full-length Big City Sin and Small Town Redemption (Fueled By Ramen) were noteworthy in their own respects, thoughtful and clever with a healthy sense of humor, but with Roy Killed John Train the foursome seems to have gained more confidence. Less reliant on faux-bombast and self-deprecation to mask their true intentions (to create timeless songs), this material is self-actualized and self-contained. Not to say that Roy has lost its humor ("Jesus Drives A Trans Am," for example, retains much of the side-mouthed wit prevalent on Tacomatose), but there's no denying a somber and less disguised wisdom.

            Roy Killed John Train is a diverse sounding record—country in rhythm, rock in guitar tone, and folk in spirit (and you can switch all that around from track to track). And now on par with material from Josh Rouse, Damien Jurado (I Break Chairs), and Crooked Fingers, maybe the biggest change in Roy is that they are becoming better storytellers, both in arrangement and lyric.