‘Progress Reform’ is an altogether immediate sounding and endearingly
compelling EP that once you get past THAT vocal, will have you quivering with
fear and eternal pessimism, such is the darkness and grandeur that transcends
from track to track. The musical arrangements are tight and akin to vast
canvasses awash with subtle tones and flawless reproductions of vistas viewed.

‘Terra Nova’ is expansive like anything Explosions in the Sky have to offer and
blossoms from a military procession drum to an all out assault of precision and
clarion calls. Throughout, the instrumentation is rich and alluring with gliding
bass lines accompanied by devious vocal nuances and melody carried on the
washes of guitar. This is scary brooding music that is best enjoyed in a copse
of the tallest trees as night falls and the cold stark reality of darkness permeates
all that is not within reach of the available failing light. Morose lyrics such as “Don’t go in the kitchen, that’s where the knives are” epitomise the sullen themes in which iLiKETRAiNS deal out so readily. ‘The Beeching Report’ a song about a recent Parliamentary report is testament to their efforts to make songs upon themes less covered in your traditional band set up.

Now iLiKETRAiNS as much as the next person; why only the other day I was cutting through the rich tapestry of patchwork landscapes this country has to offer on one of those new fandangled speedy-whizz tilting trains, but what iDON’TLiKE is prosaic and somewhat pedestrian vocals that are half Lou Reed and half arsed derivative baritone croaks that are more grate than great; an acquired taste for sure.

A departure of sorts for Fierce Panda from the straight down the middle and altogether more accessible, perhaps poppier, releases of before from the likes of Coldplay, Easyworld, Keane etc. This really isn’t a CD for happy people, more for those who pretend to have issues of despair and identify with Curtis and McCulloch by declaring Editors' album as the darkest masterpiece of post-punk that there ever was available.

www.iliketrains.co.uk

Review by James Ainsworth