Date:

Thu, 2007/10/04

Venue:

Kings Cross Scala, London

Are iLiKETRAiNS too good for a world that is left apathetic and blinded by the sensory overload of the mass media? Put it this way: of course they fecking are. Matt Dyson wrestles with the big issues…

When the twisted goons of cack brained TV development finally make Post Rock Idol, iLikeTrains are going to be sharp contenders. Simon Cowell, flanked by the bassist from Mogwai, will champion them to the Grand Final. This is Sigor Ros with a makeover. We are Scientists gone wibbly. And (if the transfixed gaze of the Japanese girl by the side of the stage is anything to go by), they’re forged from pure gold.

You could start the set from any point and it would be consistently incredible for 15 minutes, and consistently pointless thereafter.

With matching pencil ties and designer beards, iLiKETRAiNS croon their epitaphs atop a full throttle juggernaut of spectral white noise. The lyrics are pin-pricks to the retina: eerie apocalyptic visions of burning towns, which are somehow given an air of grandiose romance. It’s like a young Stephen Patrick Morrisey with a Kevin Shields fascination. The drums are a military two-step, sharp as fuck and keeping the burgeoning fuzz from falling static. And when it all comes together on the singles, like ‘Deception’, it has enough emotional clout to make a despot weep. The problem is, the same frazzled times that led to the awkward labelling of ‘post’ rock bands have also shortened our attention spans… to the length of a nats kneecap. So halfway through the set, the audiences’ eyes glaze over and what had previously been an epiphany becomes a bore. You could start the set from any point and it would be consistently incredible for 15 minutes, and consistently pointless thereafter. I like iLikeTrains. I love them in, fact. Everyone does. It is just that we are a nation of AD riddled, emotionless sociopaths, beyond caring. Moon on a stick? Unless it has bells on the end, we don’t want to know.

iliketrains.jpg

THEYLiKEiLiKETRAiNS-iSH

Kevin Shields Reviews

iLiKETRAiNS