As is often the case with new music, my first listen to this long awaited album is on a train. This time though, despite the threat of summer arriving earlier in the week, I'm travelling under brooding, leaden skies. It's a bitter morning in more ways than one, and somehow once again the right music finds me just when I need it. In this case music that is capable of indulging my glowering bad temper, but also of lifting the spirits and inspiring action. Song Of Return are assembled from a fairly high quality kit of parts - based initially around the feted but now defunct electro outfit Union Of Knives, members of several other notable acts feature including perhaps surprisingly Louis Abbott of Admiral Fallow. This range of talent makes "Limits" a varied, ambitious and ultimately dazzling collection of music which explores both highs and lows

I'm struck initially by "Shackles" which I remember from a demo which has been knocking around on my iPod for a while. It occurred to me back then that it was almost perfect - and that any band that had recorded demos which sounded this complete was going to be pretty special. Sensibly, little has changed here - an aching, sweeping vocal is supported by guitar riffs which pile onto each other, ratcheting up the levels of noise further and further until things finally soar impossibly. It's an expansive, breathtaking piece of work, which showcases Song Of Return's ability to build music in a theatrical sense - providing a backdrop, setting a stage and then finally letting the action begin. This approach, whilst well-tested by a host of acts around currently, never gets tired in this case because Song Of Return do it incredibly well - without fuss, pomp or self-importance in any sense.

Next, there is a jagged electronic pulse at the core of "Concentric" - it's a stuttering, nagging song, with a wall of noise slipping in and out of focus which has a strangely orchestral quality. Joined by what sounds like a choir of children, the main vocal is edged into the background, leaving the wash of noise and disembodied voices to push the song to it's quiet, electronic ending. Biology was always my least favourite subject at school, and initially the title of "Story of a Cell" makes me think of interminable afternoons watching a Science teacher being ritually humiliated by a class pointing at pictures of the human reproductive system. However as "Concentric" quietly ebbs into the dirty, distorted bassline which slinks through this track, the cry "if I am singular how can I rebel?" strikes a chord. It's all working towards a chorus buried in duelling squealing guitars while the vocal insists 'you choose to let your ship go under now' as the song disintegrates, with practically only the drums remaining.

"One Million Hertz" opens via a gentler, understated entrance with a low murmured voice which intones an apocalyptic but weirdly optimistic lyric. The music is little more than a distant drone, except for a repeated piano refrain and sweeps of distant guitar. As the vocals soar, the composition starts to disassemble until there is little more than the voices remaining until "Anniversary" arrives via low, melancholy piano melodies, with a wash of guitar noise and distant distorted vocals. The urgency increases and echoing beats enter the growing maelstrom, but unusually it's the deep, darkening piano which heralds the explosion and not the all-too-easy big guitar ending this time. But when it lands, it's utterly massive as the bass performs somersaults beneath everything. Listening to this on headphones is a staggering, draining and emotional experience. But the album reaches its pinnacle for me on "Trajectory". Starting with a drone of organ and a desperate and insistent vocal, it builds through layers of throbbing bass and pulsing drums until it reaches a point where it's capable of spinning off with its own momentum. The first time I listened to it, again on a train but under sunnier skies this time, it all clicked strangely into place with its refrain of "I'm on a course/and the track is set/and it's leading me way out of my depth". I'm not sure how sensible it is making life-changing decisions based on the chance hearing of music at just the right moment - no doubt I'll write here and let you know how that pans out...

In a year of impressive and inventive records, "Limits" already stands out as something very special - cinematic and ambitious like few albums of this nature, sometimes punishingly loud, but also often dark and oblique - this album is open to endless re-interpretation. Capable of seismic noise alongside lighter, more delicate touches Song Of Return have stumbled across a formula which has eluded a whole slew of acts which have gone before. While the music of a lot of bands which attempt to produce wide-angle, epic and expansive rock gets misappropriated to clumsily soundtrack 'goal of the month', it's going to be tricky to do this with something as layered, intelligent and occasionally brutal as this.

Both physical CD copies and downloads of "Limits" are available at Bandcamp. You can also find it on iTunes.

Song Of Return - Shackles

Week 5 of my accidental summer tour, and so far things seemed to be going pretty well despite the much publicised issues with timings from Network Rail. The major difficulty has been getting away from work as planned, since my job has changed so much since some of these trips were mooted - and this will only get more complex in the coming weeks. Spent much of yesterday's journey up to Manchester in some form of work based activity - and if not 'doing' I spent plenty of time 'brooding' - which culminated in an emailed explosion of frustration as soon as I got near to a proper keyboard. Not a good start to the trip, but sadly a necessary one. This meant most of yesterday written off, and a strangely poor night of sleep. At 05:30 as I slithered towards Victoria on pavements littered with discarded take-aways and birdlime, this felt like it was going to take it's toll today. Naturally, no facilities were open at this early stage so the urgent supply of caffeine which might just have helped was delayed. The timings didn't really allow much time for off-train purchases on route either - although I noted one brave soul manage the dash to the cafe at Huddersfield!. However all thoughts of this were banished as the gleaming nose of 55022 appeared on the approach to the station. Towards Miles Platting bank the sun was picking out the rails ahead in a glorious blaze. This was going to be a fun trip indeed.

Found my coach - an opulent Pullman affair with little room for storage but very plush decoration. Also met my travelling companions for the day - a quiet family with a rather miserable, northern friend who managed to find a reason to complain about almost everything, to the point I was suppressing laughter almost immediately as I turfed him out of my facing seat into his own. Moments later, with a lurch of power, the Deltic set off towards the Pennines. This was a really thought-provoking moment - all these years after chasing this loco gave me some of my first tastes of the hobby, it was back on the mainline and heading for it's former stomping grounds on the east coast. Celebrated with breakfast and coffee, before snoozing a bit as a result of my poor sleep. This seems to have dogged the last few tours - and I'd almost put it down to a sort of 'tour fatigue' - however, I think it's a combination of heat, sleeplessness and not having to be sociable as they've been solo efforts. In any case, it was pleasant to doze quietly and then wake to hear the rumbling of a Deltic at speed on the front of the train.

After picking up at Wakefield and Doncaster, we headed south towards London at speed. The timings were a little slacker than I'd hoped, but we still managed some very quick runs indeed. I was entertained at this point by my neighbours planning their day out. Each plan of action - involving the Trooping of the Colour, tour buses or whatever - would be proposed and generally approved, before the miserable one would intone "how much?" or "that's a long walk though" and scupper it. They were still pretty uncertain as we thundered through Peterborough, and hadn't really agreed anything by Alexandra Palace! Soon, we were creeping out of Gasworks Tunnel to be greeted by hundreds of photographers on the platform ends. Here, lots of the daytrippers like my neighbours left, and a fair number of cranks boarded. No time for a photograph given the scrum, before we left again with 57601 on the rear dragging us out as far as Hornsey Down EMU Reversing Siding, where 55022 took over again and we rounded the tight curve to Harringay Park. The North London Line is always fun for me - with it's intricate links to other routes and viaduct running over the rooftops. Enjoyed the journey immensely as we curved towards the Great Western Main Line at Acton Wells. Not strictly Deltic territory of course, but good to have some further speedy running out to Reading and Oxford.

Finally managed a few photographs on arrival at Oxford, though even here things were a bit of a crush before the stock left for the sidings. Headed into town in search of coffee and air-conditioning found both in a cool, quiet place in a little square not far from the station. Relaxed and contemplated the day so far, before buying some provisions and heading back to the station. Grabbed a further coffee here, and stood on the platform chatting and soaking up both the bright sunshine and the atmosphere of occasion present. Soon, having run around the stock, 55022 appeared once again to retrace our steps back to Hornsey. Following another reversal, we took the flyover at Ferme Park before using the Up Goods line. It was on this that we stopped - and waited. Waited some time in fact, watching both our arrival and departure times slip by. It seemed that a broken down Adelante was occupying Platform 1, and with the new Platform 0 barred for diesels and refurbishments blocking two others, there was a pressure to keep timetabled trains running. Eventually got underway, passing the offending unit looking a little healthier as we headed into the station to pick-up the trippers. Several cranks left pledging to be on the next Deltic trip north on 11th September!

One side effect of the late running was a need to make up time, and this produced some very fast running indeed. As the evening cooled a little, it was really fine to be speeding north with the Deltic singing away on the front of the train. My miserable neighbour also initiated a long discussion of the catering arrangements, and was upset because he'd already had a "ham and cheese" before he became aware that hot pies were available! Despite the best efforts of all concerned, we didn't make up quite as much time as was hoped. At Doncaster we came to a complete halt, as did another Class 47 hauled charter on the adjacent platform - producing what someone referred to as "an 80's timewarp!". We sat for some time here, and it became clear there was a problem. Finally we were informed that due to our late running and a signalling issue at Wakefield Kirkgate, we'd be diverted via Westgate and Leeds. This meant missing the Shaftholme to Knottingley section of the route, but was quicker. My neighbour of course misunderstood geography entirely and thought this would add a further hour onto the journey. Settled in for the final spin of 55022 up to Leeds, where we arrived to find the station full of casualties from the celebrations of England's lacklustre World Cup performance. A long wait for a reversal here, with 55022 shut down and 57601 fired up to take us back to Manchester. Noticed that the "Deltic has failed" posts took almost no time at all to reach the internet though, however these were soon corrected!

There was still a little light in the sky as I wound my way through the crowds for the last trains from Victoria back to my hotel. It had been a long day, but a fine one. To be out in the summer sunshine with 'Royal Scots Grey' leading the train had been a real treat. Thinking about the next few days of work is daunting - but if all goes well I'll be heading for the Highlands soon. It can't be hard to understand why I do this, can it?

Back in February, the McBuffer Puffer railtour gave me a unique chance to get to lots of locations in Glasgow which I'd probably not normally have readily visited. I combined the tour with a weekend of bashing local branches, the need to complete this resulting in yesterday's escapades around Whifflet! Today, it was time to do the same for Edinburgh. I've often neglected Edinburgh - finding it expensive, pretentious and predominantly focused on providing a Scottish 'experience' to tourists. Not unlike Bath in my own local area. A couple of stays have cured me of my cynicism to some extent - but it's still very much a second cousin to Glasgow, my first love!

Literally just had to pop downstairs from my hotel to the concourse of Central Station, which was a good thing given my lack of coordination this morning. Queued for coffee at the one outlet on the station open prior to 0600 as I'd discovered back in February. The plan was the first Voyager to Edinburgh - I hadn't noted that this took the route via Shotts non-stop which made for an interesting diversion. Stumbled out of the train feeling rather lacklustre and below par at Haymarket. Blundered up and down stairs and finally found more coffee and the correct platform, positioning myself for a spin around the Fife Circle. The first part of the route over the Forth Bridge was familiar from journeys to Aberdeen over the years, however at Thornton South Junction we peeled off and headed west once again to Glenrothes with Thornton. A fairly hard-to-get link back to the line to Aberdeen heads east here, completing the triangle - but this will have to wait for another visit, forming one of the few bits of Scottish track I need to seek out in future. Good to see well patronised stations from Dunfermline into Edinburgh too.

I suspected that this service would continue to Waverley despite being advertised as Edinburgh, but sure enough as we approached Haymarket we swerved towards the northern side of the station, and terminated at the newly constructed Platform Zero! A bit of bonus track, and a short hop over the bridge to the next move - along the Bathgate branch. Not the most interesting journey out via the rather bleak suburbs, but I'll confess that the town itself looked busy and interesting, as befitting the home of a minor celebrity who is revered by myself and a number of colleagues! Eventually, the line to Bathgate is earmarked to be extended to Airdrie, completing an electrified link between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Good to visit the branch whilst on its current alignment, which will need to change quite drastically here to accommodate the extension.

Through to Waverley on the return, with a brief walk up the confusingly newly designated Platform 1 to get the unit out to Newcraighall. This trip is short, and at this time of day seems to serve almost no passengers. The brief glimmer of hope it presents is the possibilities of reopening further along the alignment to Tweedbank and Galashiels in the future. Disappointingly the current extent of the line terminates enticingly close to but certainly out of sight of Millerhill Yard, and somewhat in the middle of nowhere. Watched the unit shunt out of the station, and back in to take us into the Capital, happily carrying a few more passengers this time.

The last branch left to cover was the longer trip out to North Berwick. I missed the chance to cover this when it was operated by Class 90 locomotives, and now that the Class 322 units have returned I regret this. Noted 90021 tantalisingly close to where its classmates formerly stabled at Waverley when working the North Berwick route! The first part of the trip provided a more sedate run along the first part of the East Coast, calling at a number of smaller stations before branching to the north to approach the small town of North Berwick. Once again, no time to waste before turning around and heading back to Edinburgh, which is something of a shame because I liked the look of the station and would have enjoyed exploring the place a little more. On the return run, noted the junctions for the remaining freight lines in the area, and can't help but hope for some sort of tour in the area soon to cover them.

On arrival, time to shop for provisions before heading for the longest run of the day down to Derby. Found a seat with some difficulty (I'm assured the other unit of the pair assigned to 9O26 has more unreserved seating - I just hopped on the wrong bit) and settled in for the run down the East Coast via Leeds. Once again, excellent service and a fairly speedy run in increasingly fine weather. Amazingly hot on arrival at Derby, and the Central 158 was perhaps predictably boiling and rather full of commuters. The line to Crewe via Uttoxeter - which I haven't travelled for maybe twelve years - hadn't changed much, and despite the sweletering conditions it was good to experience a change of pace on an otherwise rather hurried day.

Checked in at the always comfortable Crewe Arms before heading out for a curry. Spotted Pete Waterman wandering around - two celebrity sightings being far more than my usual quota for a trip! Time for a good long sleep before another early start.

Its been an unlucky week in lots of ways, today sort of summed it up.

Since next week the Filton Abbey Wood diversions begin again making an early connection Cardiff tricky, I decided today I'd have another crack at the Fishguard Harbour haulage. I'd managed to determine that it was 37 hauled last week, and that no-one had posted anything to the contrary for today on the various gen lists. So, feeling relaxed I boarded the 0809 from Weston, absent-mindedly changing at Bristol for a Cardiff service. Figured I'd wake up with the racket of a 37 soon enough.

Stocked up with provisions once again at Cardiff Central and patiently waited for 1016 to tick around on Platform 7. Then, bad stuff began to happen. First, a platform change to 4, then a pretty grimy looking 158826 arrived at the Swansea end of Platform 4. Wandered over, and waited - still prepared to believe this wasn't what I dreaded. The guard stepped off the 158 and asked if I wanted the Fishguard. Confirmed, and he explained - no loco today because there was no shunter available to travel to Fishguard with them to run the locomotive around the stock. He bemoaned the shunters he'd seen offered early retirement or voluntary redundancy by Arriva and its predecessors before wandering off to break the bad news to more waiting cranks.

Now, a 158 in theory is preferable to the farce with a 150 a few weeks back. Sadly however, 158826 was filthy. The air-conditioning had failed, and the set was already warm from sitting in the sun outside Canton all morning. Despite the guard opening the few available hopper ventilators, we had a long, hot and drowsy ride to Fishguard. The threat of a huge storm rolling in from the Irish Sea didn't materialise, and the ride back was, if possible, even hotter as the train was a little more crowded. The rather bizarre timing on this service meant lots of standing at signals too. Not a fun journey.

Stepping onto a pair of Portsmouth-bound Wessex 158s at Cardiff I remembered what the 158s air-con should feel like - a comfortably icy blast as recalled from summer trips to Bristol back in the early 1990s! Wrote mental letters of complaint to Arriva as we passed back into England, and a jammed 153 back to Weston. The third 153 in the last two weeks with a lack of air pressure to open the doors... more Wessex units heading for failure? A frustrating day, serving only to give me the chance to correct my Welsh - it should have be Portladd Abergwaun all along.