TRAiNSPOTTiNG

The perfect setting to the end of Freshers Week. iLiKETRAiNS release their debut album ‘Elegies to Lessons Learnt’ on Monday. This follows their critically acclaimed 2006 EP ‘Progress – Reform’. I’ve never seen the Charlotte so derelict, it was really strange.

Support band Her Name is Calla are a Leicester band, and one of the most interesting I’ve seen. Their opening track sounded like a swarm of bats descending down upon you (literally – on track ‘Condor and the River’ the trombone player starts playing harmonica and then it becomes more distorted as he screams down a microphone) It’s hardly hardcore music though, more like slowcore. They have a similar sound to that of iLiKETRAiNS, although a lot more melodic. There have been reviews that iLiKETRAiNS are like Sigur Ros if they gave History lessons, and lyrically it’s pretty dry and dark stuff – the new songs reference the bubonic plague, which is on par with Fresher’s Flu to be honest. I guess the one good thing about finishing uni is that you’ll never have the annual illness again. Rejoice!

I’m unsure about iLiKETRAiNS. Live they are pretty interesting, but every song I’ve heard by them has the same formula; starts off slow and builds up into some kind of dark monotone opus. It is rewarding if you give it time, and in the mood. It’s not remotely cheerful. Which is why I found “Progress/Reform” a bit painful to sit through. Live though; it’s a different experience.

Here is an iLiKETRAiNS song called ‘The Deception’, taken from ‘Elegies to Lessons Learnt’.

The Deception

Morrissey postpones retirement

From the NME Website

On August 28th via true-to-you.net he dispelled rumours of his retirement, and now it seems he will have a new album out next year. Which means more tours, but hopefully in more intimate venues (I’d like to think so – He did do a theatre tour for “RingLeaders..”). It would have been ashame for him to retire considering his last 2 solo efforts were significantly better than his earlier work after the Smiths. They were also lyrically different. On ‘Ringleaders’ he starts dropping hints about sex. Do people want to hear about a 48 year old man’s sexual life? I guess considering his sexuality, for the people who care; yes. For the people who don’t; Not Really!

I think it was probably always going to be bad timing with his return in 2004. Ever since then CD sales have been dwindling, and at V Festival last year he was trying to flog a single via text messaging. “Paint a Vulgar Picture” seems as prophetic as ever before; ‘new entry, re-entry World tour! (“media whore”)’. To be honest I can’t really see him breaking into a new market of fans, unless he does something dramatically different. New rave perhaps?

Here he is singing “You Have Killed Me” from the ‘Ringleader of the Tormentors’ album.

..and The Smiths performing “What Difference Does it Make?” on TOTP.

and a recent funny quote about Madonna, attacking her for wearing fur;

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she made that African boy she adopted into a coat and wore him for 15 minutes, then threw it away,”