Introducing…. Midland Railway
Midland Railway has been carving out their own space in the indie rock scene for years, blending sharp melodies with engaging storytelling. With their new album now out, we caught up with Nick to discuss their origins, songwriting, and the stories behind some of their most intriguing tracks.
Click Roll Boom: How did Midland Railway first come together?
Midland Railway: This is going back a while. In 2003, my first band split up, and I started rehearsing with Robert Hayton, trying to write some songs. Rob had been my first band’s webmaster, but he was also a talented bedroom guitarist. We recruited David Novan on drums—he’d played in my first band too. For the first year or so, Thom Cuell played bass, but after a particularly bad gig, he left, and Sarah learned all the songs in six days to step in for our next show. She’s been our bass player ever since. I knew both Sarah and David through the Manchester University Rock Music Society (then called HARM) and our shared love of Therapy?. Our first gig was in 2004 at The Night and Day Cafe.
CRB: Did you always know what kind of music you wanted to make, or did your sound develop over time?
MR: Probably a bit of both. From the start, I wanted to make music that I’d want to listen to myself—good melodies, lyrics that make people feel something. But over time, I experimented with different ideas, picked up inspiration from other music, and worked with different musicians. I’ve also improved as a musician, so our early stuff sounds more simplistic compared to now, but that’s not always a bad thing. Having bandmates with different tastes helps shape the sound too—they sometimes take songs in directions I wouldn’t have expected.
CRB: Your new album is about to be released—how are you feeling about it?
MR: By the time you’re reading this, it’s probably already out! I’m excited to see how it’s received and a little relieved to finally reach this point. It’s been a long journey. When we got the band back together in 2021, we just wanted to record some old songs for posterity, but the momentum kept going, and we ended up with a full album. Getting it to work cohesively as an album was more challenging than expected, but I’m really happy with the end result. Now, we’re in a position to start working on the next one.
CRB: What was the recording process like?
MR: Long and varied. We made plenty of mistakes along the way, just from not knowing what we were doing at times. We learned a lot, though, which will help with future recordings. Some tracks came together easily, while others—like ‘Bedroom Analysis’—had to be completely reworked at the last minute because we weren’t happy with the original mix.
CRB: ‘She Loves Ted Bundy’ is an interesting title—what’s the story behind the song?
MR: My girlfriend, Lizzie, inspired it. She’s obsessed with serial killers—Bundy being her favourite. She watches every documentary, falls asleep to true crime podcasts, and even owns a Ted Bundy-themed mug. At one point, she photoshopped Bundy onto the cats on our album cover, which made me think, this needs to be a song. Initially, it started as a bit of a joke, but I realised the idea had potential. It’s funny how some of the best songs come from just messing around. It also seems to resonate with a lot of people—mostly women—who share Lizzie’s obsession but maybe didn’t realise how common it is.
CRB: There’s a track called ‘The Pokémon Adventure’—what inspired that one?
MR: A really crappy, lonely night out. I’d been playing Pokémon Diamond at the time, and the next morning, I realised I’d somehow beaten a gym leader, even though I had no memory of playing. How Soon Is Now? by The Smiths tells a similar story about a bad night out, but I wanted to go into more detail. There are plenty of songs about great nights out, but that’s not the reality for a lot of people. I think capturing those little, relatable details makes the story more impactful. Musically, it’s one of my favourites because the dynamics fit the story so well.
CRB: Do you write lyrics from personal experience, or do you prefer to tell stories?
MR: A bit of both. Relying solely on personal experiences can be limiting, but drawing from real feelings and things I understand helps make the lyrics feel authentic. The more imaginative songs tend to be the more cheerful ones. I also really enjoy storytelling in music—it’s a great way to take the listener on a journey.
CRB: You’ve played some great venues—what’s been your most memorable gig so far?
MR: Manchester Academy 2 last summer really stands out. Playing on such a massive stage with that level of sound quality was amazing, and it definitely made me want to do more gigs like that. But I also love the variety—we’ve played everywhere from a student party on a patio to a train shed at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. One of the best crowds we’ve had was at Fuel in Withington—it was absolutely packed, and the energy was unreal.
CRB: What can people expect from a Midland Railway live show?
MR: The energy from our recordings, but even bigger and better live. We put a lot into making sure the visuals and overall experience go beyond just playing the songs. Our next show is our album release event on 23rd February at Night and Day Cafe in Manchester—if you’re around, come see for yourself!
CRB: What’s next for the band after the album release?
MR: We’ve already recorded the first song for our next album and are working on more! We also signed a deal with Robot Distro, and we have a physical release coming with Rare Vitamin Records, so it’s a really exciting time for us. If you want to keep up to date, follow us on Facebook and Instagram @midlandrailwayband.
