aaamusic | On 10, Jul 2011

It isn’t that I think that I Like Trains make intrinsically bad music, I am just struggling to think of who “Sirens” is aimed at. Perhaps this is a cynical view but I just can’t think of anyone who would actively enjoy listening to this kind of music so drenched in melancholy and yet lacking in progression or vitality. Without wanting to appear harsh on a band from whom many expect big things, it sounds a little like I have been listening to the same song throughout the EP’s four tracks. Brief hints at something to elevate these songs comes on “A Father’s Son” but even that seems to eventually revert to type and consider along the same uninspiring pattern as the tracks before it.

 

There are some things to treasure like the band’s ability to create such an aura of intensity; the whole feel of the EP is incredibly atmospheric and yet there are no changes to it which is the really disappointing thing. The vocals too appeared to be something to cherish at my first lesson but by the time I had finished they felt like some sort of transcendent chanting rather than singing and began to grate on me.

The best thing on the EP are the two remixes included at the end which show what the band could do with their enviable talents and yet they have fallen short of here. Both different remixes of “Sirens” these are where it feels like the real heart of the band lies; more of this please.

 

Author: Josie Payne