iLiKETRAiNS – Live, Cabaret Voltaire Edinburgh, Tuesday 25th September 2007
This was quite simply one of the best gigs I’ve been to in a very, very long time. Christ almighty this lot batter it out when they get going. I had the extremely good fortune to be able to interview them before the gig – something I’ll be writing up shortly – and the bizarre sight of these five thoughtful, rather intellectual and unfailingly polite and friendly young lads stepping up to the stage and going absolutely fucking mental was something to behold. They, in the no-nonsense words of Mrs. Toad, know how to rock out.
Their music is a brooding brand of post-rock (I think that’s the term, don’t hold me to that) that starts out with a sort of dark menace to it, and which builds and builds until quite frequently all five of them are going rabidly berserk and producing the sort of blistering wall of sound that most people can only dream of creating.
Live, they are also accompanied by Ashley Dean’s wonderful animations, which are designed to illuminate the often slightly obscure historical stories that comprise the narrative of virtually all their songs. It’s a weird twin spectacle, but when you’ve had a few beers the touching and untold stories they tell are driven home so much harder by the swirling malevolence of the music. Seeing iLiKETRAiNS is basically an emotional experience – the poignancy of the animations and the power of the music are something you have to simply immerse yourself in and let wash over and through you.
Ultimately, you go to a gig to get something out of the music you can’t get from a studio album, and this you do. Whether it be the emotional impact of the storytelling being so much stronger for the background animations or whether it be the visceral joy of one of the best nights of howling, raging guitar battering you’ll hear. Terra Nova was just fantastic. Building and building until there was simply no more noise to be wrung from their instruments, it was a phenomenal blast, and symbolised the whole night for me: it was powerful and emotional and left you just slightly giddy when it was over.
iLiKETRAiNS – Victress
iLiKETRAiNS – Terra Nova
Glad you liked them live. They are particularly fine. The new album’s pretty good too, isn’t it?
Not heard it yet, you gloating bastard.
you know where you can get it from though…
as i have said elsewhere – one of the most exciting bands around right now, no question about it.
this was a wonderful review to read matthew – you captured the intensity/emotion of it all. and i look forward to the interview as well.
i was left equally stunned/moved/speechless etc by their night in glasgow. i am so glad i went along. i still find it quite hard to go a gig on my own but i’m glad i braved it out.
oh, i’m waiting to read the essays first, then i’ll listen to the album…
I am really looking forward to the album actually. And I will also be seeing them again the next time they come through. I’m all excited.
And as to going to gigs alone, it’s something I got into when I first moved up here, because I didn’t know anyone and I didn’t want to force Mrs. Toad into seeing something she didn’t want to. Now I actually rather like it – you can take a chance on something without feeling responsible for someone else’s evening.
please upload victress again.. that would make my day..