iLiKETRAiNS – ‘Spencer Perceval’ (Beggars Banquet) Released 26/03/07

'Spencer Perceval' tells the story of the only British Prime Minister ever to be assassinated, over a backdrop of haunting, chiming guitar and hushed, whispered vocals with the track itself lasting a whopping 9 minutes and 18 seconds. Kaiser Chiefs or The Kooks it is not. Yet that only adds to the majestic feeling behind this offering from iLiKETRAiNS with the morose lyrics, written from the point of view of Perceval’s murderer, complementing the dark feel of the instrumentation perfectly.

The slow build works well, infusing the listener with a sense of relief when everything finally bubbles over near the end with cascading waves of shimmering top notch epic rock emerging. David Martin’s vocals, all but spoken word at points, are also effective, conveying the sombre nature of the subject matter. Of course, this actually becoming a chart hit is slightly less likely than me managing to establish my own country on the moon with the aid of a group of elephants that are also kung fu masters but that shouldn’t detract from a truly sublime effort.