Music Reviews
Artist:
iLikeTrainsTitle:
London Bush Hall
This is one of the most simple and effective lyrics ever written:
“All I ever wanted to do was play chess with you”
You can imagine it being whispered, the significance great, it’s the undisputed yearning Bobby Fischer had for playing chess with Boris Spassky. Quite an unlikely topic for a track off your first EP; the political implications of playing chess with an opponent from a country you are tied up with in the Cold War, but iLiKETRAiNS are intrigued by the monumental and fascinated with the intricacies of history.
Performing live, the band wear black mourning bands and sing about chess matches, failed expeditions and murder. Fun times. Quite fitting then that the London date of their ‘We Go Hunting’ tour is at the Bush Hall, a splendidly ornate venue, original features crawl the walls and glimmering chandeliers beg for your attention. Also rather fittingly they are supported by Kyte, a band battling alongside the headliners in the league of indulgent glumness, so in a toast to anti indulgent positioning, Kyte are thus: lacking in direction, a tad boring, however do peddle a nice line in rhaspy vocals.
The venue is notibly half full with middle-aged gentlemen, who would have beards if their jobs allowed. Respectfully a silence descends on the audience as iLT’s enter to a sumptuous instrumental, the audience eager to not miss a sound, slow strings are broken by delayed tribal beats, as singer David Martin lurches into the first song and reveals the deepest, darkest vocals know to man. “I bid you farewell, I’ll see you in hell”. Froze to the spot, the band rock back and forth, as their post rock credentials are flouted to the extreme. The layered guitaring sounds far too familiar, but gives their cold subject matter a warmth, that without could anchor them in a realm that is commonly known as indulgent tosh.
‘A Rook House For Bobby’, off the ‘Progress Reform’ EP is a high light of iLT’s soaring back catalogue. Lyrics concerning chess and the cold war are a surprising and refreshing alternative to tracks about using mouthwash and drinking cups of tea. True to the trains’ undeniable formula, each beat is delivered with an ardent precision, and the vocals are sang with utter conviction, in a composed and unnervingly attention demanding way.
Crashing into their next single, ‘We Go Hunting’, with a dark military beat, the audience are in for a marvel, for here their thunderous and monumental sound reaches a crescendo. Whilst the singer struggles for air amongst a clattering of trumpets and swirling guitars, this is epic, however still lacks anything resembling a chorus.
Throughout the set we become overly familiar with iLT’s sound of soaring guitars, stern vocals and fiery drumming, however they are masters at what they do. Each beat appears to be cherished with love and care by the band, and their fans as they are enchanted by every second of the set.
Reviewed by : Sarah Bates
