I LIke Trains - Sirens

Leeds’ I Like Trains are back after scheming and plotting their new tea business, with EP ‘Sirens’. Since their stunning debut album ‘Elegies To Lessons Learnt’ released in 2007, the band has gone from strength to strength.

A demanding drum beat and heavy, dominant bass line lures listeners into the opening track, ‘Sirens’. The sinister immediacy is relatively typical of the band and works incredibly well in creating a menacing tone. The whispering vocals of David Martin bare striking similarity to The Cure’s Robert Smith, producing a gothic and ominous passage through unnerving echoes.

‘Flood’ is a tranquil come-down from ‘Sirens’ with poetic lyricism throughout as Martin repeats ‘With the rain, came the guilt. With the guilt, came the blame.’ The peacefully upbeat fan-favourite ‘Fathers Son’ meanwhile is a real uplifting, satisfying track - ultimately the lonely chunk of pop on the record - and, lastly, ‘A Kingdom You Deserve’ is slightly Editors-ish and concludes the EP on a refreshing, emotive note.

The record is a reminder of the tender yet hugely powerful potential this band are yet to fulfil. I Like Trains, yes I do.