Skip to main content

Midland Railway's Debut Self-Titled Album Uncovered!

 


British Geek Rockers Midland Railway released their melodic and quirky self-titled debut album on February 14th 2025. The album touches on some unconventional topics, from Pokémon to serial killers. In this exclusive feature, we uncover Midland Railway's debut album as the band reveals details on all songs, track-by-track! Enjoy the wild ride! 



1 - She Loves Ted Bundy


The album opener and lead single. This song began life as a joke idea about my girlfriend's serial killer / Ted Bundy obsession. She actually does own a Ted Bundy mug, and had gone through a phase of photoshopping Ted Bundy's face onto everything, including the cats in the album art. This song was incredibly popular from the very first time we played it, and it seems we accidentally tapped into something a lot of people (mostly women) can relate to well. It is the song people seem to know best, and long may they enjoy it.


 

2 - Bedroom Analysis


This one is way darker. It was the first song I ever wrote in 6/8 time, and the first song I ever wrote with different lyrics in each chorus. Writing this helped me process a really difficult situation I was trying to make sense of, so it's one of the most meaningful to me. It essentially describes some extreme gaslighting, though I didn't realise what was going on at the time, and trying to cope with all the confusion and self-doubt it created.


3 - A Song for Hannah-Beth


While She Loves Ted Bundy tends to be the song that grabs people's attention most, a very high proportion of the people who really like our music end up picking out this one as their favourite song. It describes the early stages of a relationship where everything seems a bit too good to be true, but you desperately want to be able to set aside your (well-founded) doubts and believe that everything really is as wonderful and magical as it appears on the surface.


4 - The Pokémon Adventure


This is one of my personal favourites, and it was the first one on this album we went into the studio to record. It was based on an actual rubbish night out that I had been on. There are plenty of songs about great, fun nights out, but I think there is a shortage about the disappointing, lonely ones that leave you feeling crap. The Smiths mention one such night in How Soon Is Now, but I wanted to tell a story with more detail, as the little details can make it more relatable and bring it to life. I found myself thinking about how you can attain a level of mastery at your favourite nerdy hobbies, and in a situation where you want to meet girls, your amazing skills don't really count for anything, and they definitely don't leave you feeling any less lonely at the end of such a night. I did once come 3rd in the country at the Pokémon card game national championships too. Another thing I really like about this song is the way I was able to make the feel of the music fit the various moods of the story the song tells. I had never before managed to achieve that to quite the same degree.


5 - Cities of Gold



The Mysterious Cities of Gold was the best cartoon ever, and anyone who says otherwise is wrong. I absolutely loved it growing up, and I still think the whole thing - the story, animation, and soundtrack, are spectacularly beautiful. In one of our very early rehearsals, Rob started playing the theme tune, and we all joined in, and it has been a fairly regular part of our set ever since. Our version is a bit more punk-rock than the original, and fans of the cartoon seem to love our version. It is the only cover on the album, and if it helps remind people what a great cartoon it was, and maybe inspires younger people to go and watch it, that has to be a worthwhile achievement.


6 - General Debility


This is the only song on the album without drums (though we have a full band version we play live). This is the only original on the album I did not write the lyrics for. They were written by one of my best friends, Leila Howl (who also played bassoon on the recording), and I thought they were great, and wrote the tune to fit to them. It is a song about experiencing horrific levels of stress at work, and feeling as if you are falling apart. The song was very new when we recorded it, and the recording has such a haunting, eerie feel to it, which I really like.


7 - One Day


This is a rather angry breakup song, about trying to make sense of all the things that turned out not to have been true, and trying to get over it, but as I was writing it I was questioning who I was really trying to convince about being over it. It is one of our most energetic songs, and we have often used it as the opener at our live shows.


8 - Involuntary Counsellor


I think this might be the oldest (original) song on the album. Rob came up with the main riff, and I had an idea for some lyrics that I thought would fit the feel of the riff well, and it came together nicely. It's probably our heaviest, and is another that has sometimes been our opener at live shows. This one is Sarah's favourite of all to play live. Lyrically, it's about a situation in which someone is expecting you to deal with all the effects of their depression, but where you have no idea what to do, and it feels like an impossible situation. I would be so much more able to handle a situation like this now though. Sometimes, recording your oldest songs can show you how much you've learned and grown as a person, which can be quite a nice feeling, but I still remember the experience that inspired this one well.


9 - Anna in Wonderland



In a way, this song is the sequel to Bedroom Analysis, only by this point, you are starting to see the holes in the picture that the person gaslighting you is painting. However, while you're still a complete mess, the other person seems completely unaffected, leaving you feeling very detached from this person you thought you were so close to, and wondering what was real and whether all the emotional energy you invested was completely wasted. Unlike all the other songs on the album, this one has never been a staple in our live shows. I think it works much better on record, and I really like this recording. Rob did all the production on this one, and ended up singing the lead vocals too, so it offers something different for anyone who has had enough of my singing by this point in the album.


10 - An Attempt to Write A Song


When I first started trying to write music, it did not seem to come naturally at all. Loads of other people I knew seemed so much better at all-things musical, and they made everything look so easy in comparison. The first band I had been in had quite an acrimonious breakup, in which I got accused of a bunch of things that, looking back, probably were rather unfounded, but at the time they hurt. I tried to channel that hurt and frustration into a song about songwriting and trying to decipher what I wanted from my music and life generally, and this song is what I ended up with. It is a song that offers something quite different from the rest of the album, and I think it works well as a sort of conclusion to it all.




FFO - Weezer, Pavement, and Jimmy Eat World.

Midland Railway live shows and festival appearances are in the works for this year.


Listen to their self-titled album here:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SOULFLY/CAVALERA CONSPIRACY Guitarist Marc Rizzo, Set To Release Rotation March 30th Via Combat Records

SOULFLY/CAVALERA CONSPIRACY guitarist Marc Rizzo has set the release date for his new LP ROTATION, in stores March 30th via Combat Records/EMP LABEL GROUP/AMPED in North America, and COMBAT/SPV in Europe. ROTATION is the 4th solo release for Rizzo, following 2004’s COLOSSAL MYOPIA, 2006’s THE ULTIMATE DEVOTION (both released by legendary shred label SHRAPNEL), and the independently released 2010 LP LEGIONNAIRE. Produced by Chris “Zeuss” Harris (Hatebreed, Soulfly, Rob Zombie, Chimaira), and featuring cover art by Melody Myers (Escape The Fate), ROTATION is a blistering showcase of Rizzo’s pummeling eclectic diversity, showcased on album tracks including “Spectral Intensities”, “Thrash Boogie”, and title track “Rotation”, combining Rizzo’s penchant for pummeling, low-end riffs, with thrash-intensive leads and heavy Latin flavor. Check out an album teaser featuring “Spectral Intensities” below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4pU91aaGeY Originally a member of New Jersey lat...

DEVILDRIVER Reveals Part One of New “Outlaws ‘Til The End” Interview Series

Globally renowned, chart-topping band DEVILDRIVER recently announced the upcoming release of their highly-anticipated full-length album of outlaw country-gone-metal anthems, Outlaws 'Til The End. The monstrous collection of savage metal interpretations will be released via Napalm Records on July 6, 2018, and pre-orders are available now in multiple formats via http://smarturl.it/OutlawsTilTheEnd-NPR with more format options coming soon. This week, DEVILDRIVER is pleased to reveal the first of several segments of a new interview commentary series supporting the release of Outlaws 'Til The End. The first segment, titled "Intro to Outlaw Country", features members of DEVILDRIVER as well as album guests Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, Lee Ving of Fear, Hank3, Wednesday 13, Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory and Brock Lindow of 36 Crazyfists discussing their personal introductions to the outlaw country genre and how it has influenced them as musicians. In the video, Faf...

CHELSEA Announce First Batch Of ‘Mission Impossible’ Tour Dates

Punk legends CHELSEA have announced the first set of dates on their ’Mission Impossible‘ tour, starting at the Undercover Festival in Margate on April 14, 2018. 14/04/2018 UK- Margate, Undercover Festival 20/04/2018 UK- Coventry, Arches 21/04/2018 UK- Preston, Continental 16/06/2018 D-Stuttgart, Goldmarks 17/06/2018 CH-Bern, Rössli 18/06/2018 I-Torino, Blah Blah 19/06/2018 I-Bologna, Freakout Club 20/06/2018 I-Milano, Ligera 22/06/2018 CZ-Písek, Podčarou 23/06/2018 CZ-Ostrava, MC Barák 24/06/2018 SK-Kosice, Collosseum 25/06/2018 PL-Warsaw, Poglos 26/06/2018 PL-Wroclaw, D.K. Luksus 27/06/2018 CZ-Teplice, Knak Club 28/06/2018 D-Dresden, Chemiefabrik 29/06/2018 D-Berlin, Cassiopeia 30/06/2018 D-Düsseldorf, The Tube 13/07/2018 UK- Brighton, Prince Albert 14/07/2018 UK- London, Underworld The bands long awaited and highly anticipated new album ’Mission Impossible‘ was released on Westworld Recordings in October 2017. Undercover Festival takes place at Dreamland, Margate on Apri...

Within Temptation announce support acts for the 'Bleed Out Tour 2024'

  WITHIN TEMPTATION are thrilled to unveil the lineup of support acts accompanying them on their 'Bleed Out 2024 Tour', which kicks off in October 2024. Joining the multi-million selling rock band on this tour will be both Within Temptation’s recent collaborative artists and longtime friends: singer Tarja Turunen*, German metalcore band Annisokay, Ukrainian band Blind8 and Green Lizardˆ from The Netherlands. Ukrainian producer and vocalist Alex Yarmak, with whom the band recently released the single ‘A Fool’s Parade’, will also be appearing as a guest artist. Check out the video for ‘A Fool’s Parade’, filmed in Kyiv last month, HERE All the bands and artists will also participate in Within Temptation’s show, making it an exciting night filled with musical collaborations. The 'Bleed Out 2024 Tour' is set to showcase the best of international rock music as well as highlighting upcoming musical talent from Ukraine, resulting in an evening filled with a diverse lineup of...

Back On Earth Release NEW EP & Music Video

  Back on Earth hit the scene again with melancholic yet lyrically edge cutting "Brand New Day", title track of the brand new EP, featuring Richmond based Telltale, who's had previous support from Pop Punk's Not Dead on Spotify. With "Brand New Day", Back On Earth are going to cut it straight after a few years writing music and are set to gain fans all over the world. The track, which is a follow up to "Heroes" and "Somebody Else", is set to anticipate the new EP which was released on November 20th. Check out the video below: Tracklist 1 - Brand New Day feat. Telltale 2 - Back Home 3 - Until Tonight 4 - Somebody Else 5 - Heroes 6 - Until Tonight (Acoustic) https://www.facebook.com/wearebackonearth https://wearebackonearth.com/

SMALL TOWN TITANS' Viral Bluesy, Hard Rock "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch" Topping 2020 Christmas Playlists

  York, PA heavy rock band Small Town Titans' incredible rendition of the classic "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch" is fast becoming a Christmas standard! Showcasing the trio's bluesy, heavy influence and front-man Phil Freeman's phenomenal range, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” went viral in a matter of days in November, 2018, leading to charting on various Billboard charts including Holiday Digital Song Sales, Rock Digital Song Sales, Emerging Artists, while reaching #5 on the Next Big Sound chart. The song also reached #2 on the iTunes Rock charts, only being surpassed by Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. So, if you're ready to throw off 2020 and get into the Christmas spirit, add this exceptional cover to your playlist! "Our cover of this classic is a gift that keeps on giving for us and we're grateful for an era where songs are easily available to be covered. It's all thanks to Ben's (guitar player) insistence on making more content and our m...