Idlewild Albums (5)
'Make Another World'
Release Date 12/18/2006
Tracks 10
Label JVC Japan
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
It's to that louder, harder, heavier prowess that Idlewild returns its sights on Make Another World, and everybody's happy. Sure, why not? It's what they're best at, and what excites most. Freed from a four-LP Parlophone/EMI deal that had gone stale -- especially in the U.S., where Capitol had undercut their potential with belated releases (whereas Sanctuary licensed World for April, only one month after its import) -- the newly indie band feels as reborn as the title boasts. It was a wise move to rehire Eringa (Manic Street Preachers); he restores the sword edge in their guitars, and the snap in new (third) bassist Gareth Russell's bass and Colin Newton's thunderous, tight drums. But this is also a committed band baring their buried teeth again. Anyone who's seen Idlewild knows how quickly they burst into a manic force that, like Nirvana without the hard rock/metalisms, makes you feel like you're rollerblading and holding on to a speeding truck. See the five-pack that brings back 2002's The Remote Part's uptempo slammers. Like that LP's hammering "A Modern Way of Letting Go," its doppelganger, "If It Takes You Home" is fast, furious, rushing, and sharp as nails, recalling the "wind 'em up, let 'er rip" leap of the Sorry Ma/Stink Replacements. "Everything (As It Moves)," "A Ghost in the Arcade," the opening "In Competition for the Worst Time," and the closing "Finished It Remains" likewise spring from speakers like soda from a shaken can, with mad Rod Jones' stabbing guitar leading a livid charge. The rest maintains the pressure, debuting a dance skip on the single "No Emotion" and doleful horns on the only Warnings-esque song, "Make Another World." Of course, that's not all. Roddy Woomble's singing and words are always worth the cash, especially since he stopped shouting after 1998's Hope Is Important. His throaty crooning, like a cross of Scottish antecedents Roddy Frame and Frank Reader (Trash Can Sinatras) with Mike Stipe, remains in fine form. And of his observations, the best is the wisdom of "Future Words" ("You can steal what you love/But you can't love what you steal)," but the dignified disgust for American unilateralism imbued in the title track ("Let your tears fall in the shape/Of every one of the American states") is also emotive. Maybe World lacks the unhinged explosions of 2000's zenith 100 Broken Windows, or the epic grandeur of the topsy-turvy Remote. But there's not an ounce of filler in its lean 35 minutes, a tight ten-song LP like the vinyl era. Idlewild is a mature band able to summon a heavy past without sounding desperate, reconnecting to a time when life could be gassed by a Superchunk, Jawbox, Sebadoh, or Poster Children tune. Give it a home, and encourage them to make more. ~ Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
As Scotland's finest export, one would think that Idlewild would get the same kind of treatment bestowed to lesser talents like Coldplay, Snow Patrol and Keane. Troubling then, that the band's U.S. devotees have been left with no choice but to buy the band's last few records on import when faced with the promise of a six-month Stateside release delay. That complaint aside, Idlewild's fourth studio album Warnings/Promises is superb. As consistently good as the outfit's 2001 breakthrough 100 Broken Windows and 2003's more mature-feeling follow-up Remote Part, the band feels even more adventurous this time out. Expanding their reach, Roddy Woomble and Company ditch nearly all of their punk leanings (save for the hard-charging "I Want a Warning") but still retain their edge as the unique pulse of "The Space Between All Things" exhibits. Set in motion by a stadium-ready anthem "Love Steals Us From Loneliness," Woomble sings it superbly and finds himself accompanied by a wall of swooning guitars. But beneath what's expected -- like the warm near-ballad "Welcome Home," which clearly deserves the airwaves -- it is musical magic like "El Capitan," with its gorgeous, piano-steered melody and memorable hook that captures hearts while unveiling Idlewild's credo. As Woomble encourages us to "Stand up and stand out" amid the song's glorious refrain, his band has already done it, not just on these eleven tunes (twelve if you count the hidden, unlisted track) but in almost everything they've done since they rose to prominence. Doing things their way may have kept them out of the limelight until now, but it's only a matter of time. To steal a line from the liner notes of Remote Part -- support your local poet. Get this album by any means necessary. ~ John D. Luerssen, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Idlewild has only now become a group of musical statesmen. Their fourth album, The Remote Part, captures a divinely aged five-piece, an aware group of young men who are inspired by countless works of American literature while also influenced by their everyday life in their native Scotland. Focusing on the literal has humbled Idlewild, and emotional, punk-inspired tantrums have been forgotten. Look at their 1999 debut, Hope Is Important: It's an angry, grunge-soaked songbook that drowned frontman Roddy Woomble's vocal charm. 100 Broken Windows became a critical hit with its melodic indie-punk mix, but it was as conflicted as their previous effort. Two years on and several band changes later, the members of Idlewild have found what they've been searching for -- a beautiful calmness and a comfortable spot to reflect upon -- and The Remote Part flawlessly does the job. From the charging, radiant chorus of "You Held the World in Your Arms" to "Live in a Hiding Place"'s sweeping melodies, you'll sense that Idlewild is content with what the band has created. The crystal-edged "(I Am) What I Am Not" delves back into Idlewild's signature crunchy style with class, but it's the ambitious epic "American English" that defines The Remote Part's quick-witted desire. Woomble is a crooner, so convinced that what's happening in the song is true and tangible. It's obvious in the bandmembers' earlier work that they were headed to this point in their career. There's much to be said about growing up, especially from your late teens to your late twenties. The Remote Part naturally works with Idlewild's maturation, knowing it could all be different later on. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Four Scots who first made name in their native U.K. in the late '90s with their punk-laden debut, Hope Is Important, scale back a bit on their sophomore effort, 100 Broken Windows. Idlewild have grown up and mold traditional song structure with classic Victorian lyrical imagery. They aren't shy about playing into their influences either. When it's supposed to be fashionable to enjoy artists such as Westlife and Atomic Kitten, Idlewild still hark at what it's like to grow up in the working class. It's neither glossy nor spectacular. It's rough-edged in spots but also tightly woven. 100 Broken Windows illustrates what these four men love about music, specifically their passion for Nirvana and R.E.M. Frontman Roddy Woomble is lyrically quick-witted, and his hazy, splintering vocals ache on tracks such as "Little Discourage" and "I Don't Have the Map." Melodies are muddled, but these tracks exude the similar pain and desire found in late-'80s/early-'90s punk rock. Idlewild were just kids then but were obviously affected by the sounds of Sonic Youth, the Pixies, and Fugazi. "Roseability" (a nice tribute to poet Gertrude Stein) and "Actually It's Darkness" infinitely find a calmer Idlewild, and such three-chord tracks are tightly polished with energy not present in most modern rock artists currently spawning fast-paced rap-rock. Idlewild's spunk is raw, a nice maturation from the early days of angst-ridden anthems made for no one who was listening. 100 Broken Windows moves past such exertion and identifies life's transition into being an adult. Roddy Woomble likes to keep that hidden, however. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The members of Idlewild were barely in their twenties when they recorded their debut, Hope Is Important. Quite taken with the grunge surge of the early '90s, distorted guitars and textured basslines mosh among Roddy Woomble's screeching vocals, which are also abrasive and wounded. The first half of Hope Is Important has a high-speed disposition of punk chaos reminiscent of Nirvana's Bleach. "You've Lost Your Way" and "4 People Do Good" rampage with angst-ridden themes, and classic vocalic disarray and complexity. "I'm Happy to Be Here Tonight" is where Idlewild truly shines -- an indie anthem wholeheartedly passionate. They may be from the working-class mass of Scotland, but Idlewild's members are intellects with a twist. Hope Is Important exudes the fiery nature of four young guys yearning to make their own way in modern rock despite the popularity of the three-chord riff. Lyrically, the poetry behind such wordplay isn't as apparent as it would be on their follow-up, 100 Broken Windows. But it's there, and it's enjoyably humorous. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide
