Two Trains: Experimental/Ambient Post-Rock from Norway

If you can imagine a world of ceaseless yet fluctuating rainfall spilled from swirling blue-grey clouds hanging in skies that reflect the wet and cracked pavement of a frigid, dreary city in which the people move in slow and comforting sadness, then you can imagine Two Trains as the soundtrack to such a setting. From this description, one may suppose this highly intriguing act hail from Seattle, WA, but no, it's frostbitten Norway instead. Two Trains is the curious result of members from the Norwegian underground, most notably Beyond Dawn and Lamented Souls. See, the Norwegians have an affinity for strange, off-the-wall forays from their main gigs, and Two Trains follows well in that tradition, yet musically, one would need to commit to an exhaustive search through the most obscure realms of the region's underground music scene to discover anything remotely similar to this.

Indeed, this music drizzles and downpours out of the speakers in subtle streams. There is an intoxicating ambience through this work that acts as a sedative, gently and carefully erasing the chaos of time in waves of nostalgic bliss. The music drifts and pulses in mostly slow and melancholic gestures, with occasional lapses into sonic intensity ("Give Me Violence"). Far away from the usual fare of these musicians, Two Trains is slow-motion ambient-rock of an experimental nature, with perhaps only the recent work of Beyond Dawn approaching anything near a suitable comparison. However, this reference owes much to that band's Espen Ingierd providing vocals here. His unique manner of expression and charismatic presence, along with the indie-experimentalism in which much of this music maneuvers within, brings the Norwegian "lounge kings" to mind more than any of the other bands lending members to Two Trains. Always a clever lyricist, Ingierd brings character and a bizarre poetic insight into human conditions to these peculiar songs.

Hop in the car and head off down the rainkissed highway, slip in Two Trains and feel these lush waves in the shape of songs rush over you, in a moment of grey-world embrace. Or, toss your drenched coat on the floor, situate yourself comfortably on the couch and welcome the hazy caress of "Sorry" to take you out of that chaos swirling in your mind from your time in the world outside. The soundpicture of Two Trains is strangely enveloping, slinking through disconnected yet lateral sonic tapestries in understated extravagance. Witness the dark of "Half As Good" yield to smooth transitions into tender harmonies for a taste of how this music drifts through fields of sound, going someplace further, yet not without a token object from each passage. Songs like the splendid "A Nosedive Into Luxury" and stealthy yet racing pulse of "Give Me Violence" contain an addictive touch that denies to be understood in anyway other than a creeping subtlety. Clever and charming, these songs contain that mystifying otherness familiar to most music of unique creativity and character. Excepting the useless short instrumental "Burmatek", which sounds like a leftover from Beyond Dawn's Frysh sessions, there is remarkable consistency here, allowing for a mostly relaxing and rewarding listening experience. Two Trains is a work that never allows its eccentricities to overtake its intelligence and atmosphere, yet establishing an endearing balance between these elements in the deliverance of some truly fine music.

1. Out of friends
2. Side effects
3. A nosedive into luxury
4. Sorry
5. Taken seats
6. Burmatek
7. Give me violence
8. Equal in the sea
9. Half as good
10. Somewhere outside
11. Crippled ambitions