The Remote Part - Idlewild

Scottish bands at the moment are, in my opinion at least among the best out there on the scene. Some of the lesser known bands up north such as Mogwai, the Delgadoes and Biffy Clyro are top. Idlewild are one perhaps better known having made the charts and touring with Coldplay this last year they are reached they best effort yet. Idlewild are a band that have changed a considerable amount since their first beginnings. The Remote Part is in fact their forth album, and since recording this have changed again with members departing and new replacements. Their sound has notably changed, in early recordings they made as much noise as possible, whereas now with a ...  Read the complete review

Gone are the smelly jackets and crap shoes (sort of). Gone is the raw howling, the cat-stuck-in-a-metal-box production and guitars, and the incomprehensible lyrics behind a wall of screaming white noise. Idlewild have grown from a thoroughly amazing punk band into a beautiful indie band with intelligent, articulate songs with massive hit potential. Its more REM and less Sonic Youth, and some fans of Idlewild’s old sound are going to hate “The Remote Part”, but it truly is a masterpiece, critically hailed by everyone from the List to the NME to Kerrang! It opens with the anthemic “You Held the World in Your Arms” and ...  Read the complete review

This CD is another first for me. I have actually liked tracks by Idlewild without realising it, but it was not until my husband put this CD on in the car that I decided that I would want to listen to more of them than just their chart releases. Amazingly, this is the 4th album from the band, so I can only imagine that I have been living under a rock as I had never heard of them until about 4 months ago. This album grabbed my attention straight away which is something that rarely happens on the first listen to any album. The band are three (originally four) Scottish guys who formed in 1996. Roddy Woomble on lead vocals (and also lyricist), Rod Jones (guitar) and ...  Read the complete review

It's a privilege being a fan of Idlewild's music. Not simply because it's so good, but because the people who have followed the band's recording career have been in the position to watch the band grow up musically, constantly growing in confidence, musical ability and song writing craft. What started with the manic, noisy and wonderful Captain mini-album has now become, in The Remote Part, something greater, more melodic and beautiful, but still often manic in it's own little way. What follows is a review of one of the finest records you'll hear this year. 1. YOU HELD THE WORLD IN YOUR ARMS (3:21) This song burst into the charts ...  Read the complete review

Scottish rockers "Idlewild" have a bold, distinctly different approach to songwriting. I challenge anyone to come up with a solid explanation of what "American English" is actually about! But don't be put off by Roddy Woomble's poetic lyrics. Indeed, for me at least, this is the beauty of the album - and all their work as a whole. The listener is able to interpret the songs for themselves. Rarely will you find any worn, pop clichés in the songwriting. Roddy Woomble almost teases the listener in "American English" with the fabulous bridge lyrics - "And I won't tell you what this means, cause you already ...  Read the complete review