iLiKETRAINS

iLiKETRAINS are an English alternative rock and post-rock group from Leeds, United Kingdom. Active since 2003, the band is associated with experimental, indie rock and alternative rock sounds, and is led by David Martin.

Formation and name

The group is formed in Leeds and is active from 2003 onwards. It uses the stylised name iLiKETRAINS and is also known as I LIKE TRAINS after a name change from October 2008.

Early releases

The band begins releasing material in 2005 with the debut single Before The Curtains Close on Dance to the Radio. It is followed by A Rook House For Bobby on Kids, a single based on the life of chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer. A third single appears in 2006 on Fierce Panda, and Terra Nova becomes one of the band’s best-known early tracks, focusing on Captain Scott’s doomed 1912 Antarctic expedition. The song’s homemade animated video also gains attention and is shown on MTV2 and in an exhibition at the Fram Antarctic museum in Oslo.

Albums and EPs

In 2006, the band releases the mini-album PROGRESS, REFORM on Fierce Panda. The release collects recordings from the period and continues the band’s interest in historical subjects, including Captain Scott, Hjalmar Johansson, Bobby Fischer and Dr. Beeching.

The first full-length album, Elegies to Lessons Learnt, appears in October 2007 on Beggars Banquet. It develops the band’s focus on history and includes singles whose B-sides revisit the same stories from different viewpoints. After Beggars Banquet ends, the band releases the instrumental EP The Christmas Tree Ship at the end of 2008 on Fantastic Plastic.

He Who Saw the Deep follows in October 2010 as the first release on the band’s own ILR label. It is funded through PledgeMusic and is described as a more streamlined version of the band’s dark atmospheric sound. The album generates three singles, later collected with sea-themed videos on the CD/DVD release This Skin Full of Bones at the end of 2011.

The band releases The Shallows in 2012. The album is produced by Richard Formby and explores relationships with technology, information overload, and the effects of digital reliance on memory and thought.

In 2016, the film A Divorce Before Marriage, about the band and made by Matt Hopkins and Ben Lankester, is released with an accompanying album of the same name. Kompromat follows in 2020.

Style and themes

iLiKETRAINS are known for songs built around historical events, political figures and other tragic or damaged narratives. Their music is described in the input as dark, atmospheric and wide-screen, with an interest in grand civic themes and alternative perspectives on the same events.

Reception and other use

The band gains notice in the UK press and radio, and its music is used in film and television. Its soundtrack and trailer placements include CSI: Miami and trailers for The Wrestler, Amelia and Beautiful Boy.