The Railway Children - Forgotten Indie Rock Gold

Cover art for The Railway Children's 1988 album "Recurrence"

So far there seems to be a pretty common theme developing on this blog- "underrated artists" and why I think we shouldn't have forgotten about them. But before I go changing my blog name to "underrated alternative"... it should be known that this is basically redundant. Most "alternative" music, classic and current, is underrated- hence why it's the alternative to what is popular in music. However, there are well-known and well-credited alternative rock bands old and new, and those that fall completely under the radar for most who don't go searching for it. The Railway Children is another band that absolutely falls under the latter category.

Now here's an old school indie band you can blow your hipster friends out of the water with, because who the hell remembers or knows who the Railway Children are? Well I'll tell you who did- my mom. I found a well-kept cassette of their 1988 album "Recurrence", among many other gems in her old collection, (many of which you can expect will also be talked about on this blog later) back when I was in high school, and I played that tape to death in my old boombox. Their delightful blend of indie rock and jangle pop soothed my soul, much like the feeling I had when I first discovered indie legends the Smiths. But when I did my usual thing of researching every band I get into, I could hardly find any information on them. Search results turned up just a few low-resolution, old photos of the group, and a pretty sparse Wikipedia Page. All anyone could really tell me is that they were a Manchester group, started in 1984, and that they "never achieved any mainstream success"...well no shit. That much seemed pretty clear. 

The Railway Children. Gary Newby pictured on the far left foreground. Photographer and year unknown

But despite that lack of information on the Railway Children, I still loved them, and enjoyed that they were a bit of a mystery. What you need to know about them is that their lead singer / songwriter Gary Newby is the main creative force behind the operation, and that his pretty face and charming voice could steal the heart of any young, misunderstood teenager. That, paired with their lush, jangling guitars, and Newby's heartfelt, poetic lyrics makes for one hell of an indie band. But for some reason they never could attain the same level of fandom (or even close) to that of their contemporaries, using the same formula (i.e. the Smiths, the Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo & the Bunnymen, etc.). But that very thing is precisely what makes an indie band great, right? You feel like they're your little secret, and you develop a bond with them because of it.

Well, I'm here to share that "secret" with all of you. Because everyone deserves to know how wonderful the Railway Children are. If you want to find out just how charming they are, you can find their entire discography on Spotify (with less than 100,000 plays on nearly every track) or you can find a majority of their songs on YouTube. Below is a link to one of my favorite songs by them, "A Pleasure" via YouTube, for your listening...pleasure. 

If a darker, moodier brand of indie rock / post-punk is your style, I recommend starting with the Recurrence album. If more upbeat, jangle-pop is your thing, you should start with a listen-through of their first record, Reunion Wilderness, which I find to be nearly as solid, start to finish, as Recurrence. After that, in 1990, they incorporated more keyboards and a slightly more electronic sound, but still with that jangling guitar ever-present. Whatever your take on indie rock is, the Railway Children definitely have something to offer.