iLiKETRAiNS > thisgreenandpleasantland.com

iLiKETRAiNS are a band as obsessed with history as they are with the dramatic music they create to tell it. Hailing from Leeds, they offer something completely unique to its vibrant music scene, described by The Guardian as "grand and slightly unapproachable civic music, less to be listened to and more to be visited like a museum or war memorial, and all the more interesting because of it." The Times referred to them as the leaders of "library rock"' in their piece on the band describing their passion for history and the somewhat gloomy demise of the industrial era, and NME descried them 'brilliant, unique, wry... at odds with pop's present trends.'

The band released their debut single 'Before The Curtains Close' on the Leeds Dance to the Radio label in 2005. The murder ballad soon sold all 500 copies and was followed by their second single 'A Rook House For Bobby' on Kids. The dramatic tale depicting the life of Bobby Fischer, the troubled chess grandmaster sold all 500 copies in its first week and earned them recognition at radio and press in the UK. Their third single was released in 2006 on Fierce Panda and sold all 1000 copies in its first week. 'Terra Nova' was the story of Captain Scott's doomed 1912 Antarctic expedition set to a sensational orchestra of guitars as grand as the landscape it describes and has earned them regular plays on national radio and glowing reviews. The band's zero-budget animated homemade video reenacting the last days of Scott and his team has become as popular as the song and received regular plays on MTV2.

The summer of 2006 saw the release of the mini-album PROGRESS, REFORM on Fierce Panda, which was a catalogue of their recordings to date and full of the band's unique, beautiful sounds and rousing songs, brimming with exceptional characters and historical events. The songs covered Captain Scott, Hjalmar Johansson, a rejected candidate for the Norwegian Antarctic team; Bobby Fischer, the troubled chess Grandmaster and a reprise to Bobby's political status; Dr. Beeching, who closed the National railways and other tales of damned or murderous events. The band have since toured Europe and played a Maida Vale session for Radio One, a Jon Kennedy session for XFM and a Gideon Coe session for 6Music.

Their live shows see the band dressed in matching British Rail uniforms playing to a film backdrop of trains, snow and chess, running from their antiquated projectors. Word of mouth has led to an ever increasing loyal following of 'RAiLCARD HOLDERS' who are now coming from all over Europe. The band also runs a monthly club night, SiGNAL FAiLURE at the Brudnell Social Club in Leeds where they have the opportunity to showcase their favourite bands.

(Images on this page are courtesy of Joe Dilworth)