iLIKETRAINS



Not long ago (ten days to be precise) I had the pleasure of seeing iLIKETRAINS live at the Scala, and suffice to say they were absolutely fantastic. Their sound is probably best described as a beautiful, melancholic amalgamation of Tindersticks, Joy Division, and post rock with a tiny dash of the Smiths, while their lyrics concern themselves with trivial everyday issues like, I dunno, the now-forgotten assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, the Salem witch trials, the Great London Fire, or Scott's failed expedition of the Antarctic. After the concert I was fortunate to bump into the band at the venue bar and briefly chatted with the lead singer, David, and the tour manager - I also had a brief conversation with the bassist, Alistair, who didn't seem the slightest bit fazed that his mum and dad were present and clearly full of parental pride. All in all, they're hugely talented musicians and songwriters as well as a bunch of thoroughly pleasant blokes.

So, if the gig was such a success and I was even able to meet the band, how come I am only writing about this now? Well, partly because I suspect you are all sick to the teeth of me eulogising about one post-rock band after another, so I thought I'd give it a break; but also because I've just purchased their new album Elegies To Lessons Learnt, and it basically served as a reminder of how great this band is. Without wishing to come across as too hyperbolic (for once), this album is absolutely breathtaking stuff. I strongly suggest you check out some of their music videos on Youtube (their latest single, Spencer Perceval, is probably a good starting point) or just go and buy their admittedly limited (for now) back catalogue on iTunes. So go. Do it! Do it now! You owe it to yourself as a lover of music. You'll thank me one day.

EDIT: Someone has posted a clip from the Scala gig on Youtube. Since I was right by the stage you should be able to make out the back of my head somewhere. Or maybe not. Curse the homongenised uniformity of the contemporary male hairdo.