iLiKETRAiNS are a band that can claim two distinctions – not only are they a rather marvellous gloomy post-rock guitar band; they also provide the perfect aide to revision towards that all important GCSE history. “Take off those headphones boy!”. “But Sir, I’m cramming for my mocks”. “Very good”. In fact, the promo copy of Elegies to Lessons Learnt came packaged with wonderful essays for each of the themes explored in these songs, practically something you could hand in yourself and hopefully gain an A+ (If you buy a copy of the album from Rough Trade records you’ll also get a copy of the essays – Ed).

This album picks things up from where we left them with last years mini-album Progress Reform. This was a splendid mixture of melodrama, wintery orchestral chords set to an unusual vocal style, where all songs follow a narrative and tell a tale. These are not songs of love and relationship in the conventional sense, though they are full of drama and passion. Themes covered here range from the Great Fire of London, the Plague, the death of a Prime Minister and the suicide of a yachtsman. Musically, there again is no great departure from last years EP. The songs plod along, rarely gaining any tempo, drums thundering around a cacophony of guitars.

And sadly, its all rather dull. I adored Progress Reform, but the fact that this is more of the same makes it a rather unsatisfying album. I almost wish Alzheimer’s would selectively sweep across my mind and remove all trace of it so I could better appreciate the follow-up. Also, despite the verbal genius of the accompanying essays (which are expertly written), the lyrics are annoyingly weak. “Twenty Five Sins”, concerning the Fire of London, has the rather obvious chorus “This town is burning down”, rather stating the obvious, whilst “We All Fall Down” makes “Ring a Ring O’Roses” look classy.

There are occasions here where they do hit their stride – “The Deception” is fantastic, an interesting tale with more musical muscle, while “The Voice of Reason” is also good, with its haunting, echo heavy intro. Album highlight is definitely “Spencer Perceval”, a staggering piece of work. The main problem I have with this album though is just how everything sounds the same. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect them to suddenly break into a boss-a-nova beat, but the plodding, weary feel does make the album rather relentless. An iPod with this and an Erasure album on shuffle would result in the listener suffering a form of emotional bends, bobbing back and forth between jollity and depression until the mind cracks in two.

So all in all, this album is somewhat of a disappointment, and does not mark much of a journey on from last year. So where it used to be iLOVETRAiNS, its now iQUiTELiKETRAiNS. Its not a complete waste of time and energy, but it’s a bit too much like a train without a buffet car – it’s a journey worth taking, but not much to sustain you while you get there.
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Links
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