iLIKETRAiNS- Progress Reform (2006)

I've recently introduced myself to a band out of Leeds with the unabashedly pretentious title iLIKETRAiNS. And you need to get past the band name right now...Done? Okay, onwards then! I'm glad you are still with me, because the band is WORTH IT.
Let me explain how i feel, because i can't say i know a lot about these most morose fellas, other than that their music is exceptional.
iLIKETRAiNS' tunes are built around their singer and his stories, which recount the tragedies of historical figures- like Captian Scott's 1911 ill-fated expidition to the South Pole, or chess champ Bobby Fischer's descent into madness and reclusion, for just a couple examples. You'll quickly get the tone of it all after a listen through: stories retold are tragic and dark, but recounted with a role-play type feel, so as audience you will feel you are listening to first hand accounts. The music serves as a vehicle in a theatre of the fantastic, the macabre, the emotional. The lyrics are, for the most part, historically accurate, and serve as something to immerse yourself in, something much deeper than the run of the mill girl/angst/art/travel/girl stuff found in most indie rock.
This singer's exceptional backing is almost as good as he himself: post rock guitar tones, experimental song structures, and crescendos that won't let you down- including full choir sections done to the most hauntingly beautiful effect.
I say take one part Morrissey, one part Interpol, and mix in a little Tim Burton if he was a musician. There you have iLIKETRAiNS. But the whole reason i chose to write about this band is that you won't find another like them. I've held off listening to their newest release, Elegies to Lessons Learnt, until i could fully process their first release of length. Now that i have, i'll be purchasing the rest of their catalog faster than you can say "guillotine".
LISTEN to iLIKETRAiNS

Rating: 7.8