Scottish Non-fiction (The Remote Part - Idlewild)

Name: wicked_witch

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Product:	The Remote Part - Idlewild
Date:	30/07/02 (398 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: intelligent, beautiful, relevant

Disadvantages: none

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 closes with the absolutely beautiful “In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction”, Scottish Fiction being a poem read by Scots poet Edwin Morgan. In between we have soft, uplifting and/or heartbreaking songs and a few strategically placed to show that Idlewild still know how to do screaming and rolling around on the floor with your guitar rock (“A Modern Way of Letting Go” “I am What I am Not”).

It bears the typical trademarks of Idlewild, despite the absence of short agonised Roddy-howls, squalling guitars and the signs of old Idlewild punk. Roddy's Scots-snapping, low pitched and beautiful voice, the short angular guitar rhythms, odd titles, canon vocals, and bookish, at points mocking, lyrics, are all here in true Idlestyle, with the addition of more acoustic guitars and pianos, softer, more ear-friendly melodies and of course, Morgan’s beautiful closing poem. This album points Idlewild in a completely different direction, from the one they started out on (IE rock like theres no tomorrow, annoy the neighbours and get very very drunk) one that “100 Broken Windows” could only hint at, not prophesise. These boys are going places, mark my words.

The CD- Parlophone is the label its released on, and it was released on Monday 15th July 2002 (th
e day after T in the Park, yay!) and it does have an enhanced section, albeit a pretty crap one. It consists of the video for American English, plus two other videos for other songs, one of which is just a woodland scene, and the other an ocean view. Pretty, but boring. But the enhanced section is the only way this album falls short, and given that it isn't required to have one, its not a big deal at all.

The Tracklist

1.“You held the World in Your Arms”- the Perfect indie-rock band single ™

You’ve probably heard this one by now. Its an explosive opening, uplifting, anthemic, it’s the only Idlewild song I’ve heard to touch on clichéd and sounds a tad Americanised, although that’s soothed over by Roddy’s vocal (which is sounding pleasingly Scottish now he’s dropped the vicious, American punk snarling and howling like a rabid animal). It has the potential to do a Bohemian-Like-You, i.e., drive you insane if you don’t like it, because its on radio and TV a LOT. Fortunately for me, I love it. It opens with a startlingly quick drumbeat and launches right into a squealing, high-pitched string tune, and a razor sharp and squeaky-clean guitar line. This is contrasted perfectly by the low-pitched, almost droning vocal, which provides a helluva singalong chorus. This song was absolutely made for release as a single. The melody is as pop friendly as can be, yet its rock enough for the skater kids to like it, and distinctive and intelligent for the indie kids to love it too. The strings add a nice touch also; I sincerely doubt Roddy would have considered using strings on an earlier work. It’s a lovely upbeat song, and I love it to bits, but I don’t consider it one of Idlewild’s best, and its success over the gorgeous “American English” just proves how today’s music industry has its head up its arse (s’cuse my French).

2.“A Modern Wa
y of Letting Go”- Idlewild saying “I know how to rock better than you do”

A nice contrast to the sugared guitars and pop of the first songs. This starts out with a pounding, scuzzy, dirty guitar line, and kick starts into a full-throttle rock song. It definitely has an old Idlewild feel, and provides a well-timed and well-aimed reminder that Idlewild know how to rock, and don’t plan to stop doing so. Once again has distinctive Roddy-style lyrics (“Losing isn’t learning to be lost, its learning to know when your lost)-which sound remarkably Stipe-meets-Morrissey without the slightly pompous sound of the latter. Idlewild’s lyrics will either baffle you completely (although you can still sing along) or you’ll know exactly what he’s on about (or possibly both or any combination of the two). The urgent drumming reflects and equally rapid guitar track power this song along at a great pace, the effect softened by drawn-out vocals. The track finishes with the same guitar riff as it started with, and another quick drumbeat. A bit of a shock after the first one. But an excellent track which manages to be fun, rocky AND intelligent, which is quite an achievement.

3.“American English” If not the best, then among the top 2 Idlewild songs written

Probably my favourite Idlewild song ever(actually, I haven’t got to “In Remote Part” yet), and definitely a contender in my fave singles ever. After the tyre-squealing, lurching halt of the aural assault that was “A Modern Way of Letting Go” the tender opening lines of “American English” provide as big a shock as the second song did, if for different reasons. Just the first guitar lines and vocals have the most beautiful, inspiring and melodic feel to them, Roddy’s voice again harmonising with the high pitch of the repetitive guitar track. You may have heard this one. I don’t think it did as w
ell in the charts as “You Held the World” which is a shame really because it’s a far more beautiful and worthy song, even as beautiful and worthy as “You Held the World” was. This one takes a bit of a dig at intellectualism, ‘heartfelt’ soppy love songs (“Sing a song about myself, keep singing a song about myself, not some invisible woman”), and also scoffs at the idea of universal truths. The recurring guitar line is repeated over and over through the verses, and changes in the chorus, to repeat over and over again, but for some reason, it just adds to the beautiful feel of the song. Maybe it’s just a case of the simple things being the best; maybe that’s what this song is also trying to say. Whatever it is, I bloody well love this song.

4.“I Never Wanted” Enough to make you blub like a baby.

A gorgeous, melancholic song with a turned-up bass line, and a softly wailing guitar line, mirroring the heartbreaking lyrics and vocals (“I created myself to be on my own, but I didn’t expect to be alone”). The song seems to work in a train of thought way, veering from one idea to another, contradicting itself later in the song (“No-one creates themselves”). I’m absolutely in love with the vocals on this song, which intermingles in a canon effect at points, and complements the high-pitched guitar line. At one point it descends from melancholic to hopeless (with barely no music in the background and a repeated “There is no reason”). At points (the chorus) the vocal rises slightly into a more hopeful tone, but its following descent into melancholy makes it more poignant still. Enough to have ya in tears. Or possibly I’m just a sap. This song reflects how Roddy has grown from talking about emotion as a concept to talking about his own, but still in an articulate and at points bookish manner (yet he skilfully avoids the pitfall of v
ery intelligent rock- i.e, sounding pompous and arrogant). Its impossible to imagine him coming up with a song like this a few years back, but the growth appears to have done them nothing but good.

5.“I am What I am Not” A “Screw you” song

Another attempt (and success) at the old vitriolic rocking Idlewild sound which succeeds rather well actually. The opening guitar line is vicious, gritty and infectious. Yet despite the kick-ass nature of the song, it remains intelligent and distinctive, and still retains a smart, mocking edge (“If all this wisdom is true, then I doubt it could really, have come from you, I am What I am Not”). This has real potential as a mini-mosher fave purely because of its rebellious feel. Even the music itself is defiant feel to it, the slightly offbeat vocal pitch and guitar line combine with the vocals to provide a bit of a “f**k you” song. The odd plonking piano “bit” is thrown in for good measure, and there’s a quick breakdown between verse and chorus. The song plunges to a millisecond stop then races off again in its furious, destructive fashion. This brings to mind “Hope is Important” Idlewild’s second album.

6.“Live in a Hiding Place” Hiding from the world.

Funnily enough, all about escaping the world, opening on an acoustic guitar, and another contender for a fave Idlewild song, and is definitely among the best on this album. Alternately melancholic and hopeful (the uplifted vocal and sweet-as-hell acoustic guitar providing the hopeful bit). It moves from a slow beginning to a medium pace, but quite forward going with an almost hurried feel (kind of like running away or hiding. That might not make sense unless you listen to the song), until the chorus is reached. There’s a lovely piano tune thrown in which mirrors the guitar in the chorus. The song in general, has a lovely sweet feel, and is a perf
ect example of why Idlewild punkers are going to loathe this. The clean electric guitar in the chorus, combined with the piano, the light drumming and softened (for Roddy) vocals make the song sugar sweet and almost lullaby-esque in bits.

7.“Out Of Routine” American-Scottish

Another shock to the system after the last one. The guitar, in contrast, in this is buzzing and dirty sounding, and you can just see Rod throwing himself to the floor while playing this. Another rebel song. This one has a slightly American feel to it to, for some reason, can’t quite put my finger on it, perhaps it’s the guitar line which smacks of American rock, maybe of the kind you’d find on a harder Jimmy Eat World song (I never thought I’d find myself comparing the ‘Wild to JEW) It doesn’t sound conventional or overdone in any way, in fact the production is so raw, it could have your ears bleeding, especially on the chorus when the guitars are turned up full blast and Roddy reverts somewhat to his old vocal style (still no yelps or howls in earshot though, and he still sounds nicely Edinburgh). Basically, to me this sounds like Idlewild showing Americans just how to pull of uplifting, bouncy "American" rock without sounding like Bon Jovi. This one sounds sort of like a indie garage band having a tantrum in, well, a garage. Unpolished, and raw, utterly brilliant. Its going to be a gig fave in future I’ll bet.

8.“Century after Century” Creepy and urgent

This one is medium paced but the guitar lends an urgent feel to it. It also sounds quite eerie, again because of the guitar, and also the undulating, muted vocals, which sound gritty and rougher than the usual sound (although low pitched, Roddy’s voice is quite smooth). The guitar is nicely raw and buzzy sounding again. A guitar solo in the middle, which contains some intensely high-pitched squeals, adds to the weird feel. The v
ocals are turned down and at points sound almost tinny (sounding half a mile away, a la Strokes. God, there’s another band I never thought I’d find myself comparing them to.) Contains some brilliant lyrics such as “A newspaper, the headline tellin’ me fortune favours the brave, I’ve never been known to be that brave”, “Isn’t it romantic to be romantic when you don’t understand what you love, or if a word like that can ever mean anything” (with Roddy sounding gloriously Scottish as he sings this, and a contender for my fave 'Wild lyric) and “Cheerleading for creative writers”. I suspect this one won’t go down in Idlewild history as a favourite, but I love it, the creepy feel to it lends an unusual edge to it, its something I’ve never heard anything like this from Idlewild before. Must be something to do with staying in a Highland cottage for so long. Or possibly living in a flat with no heating.

9.“Tell me Ten Words” Idlemild (but still bloody brilliant)

Another sugary sweet guitar pop song with a soft acoustic guitar and a muted drumbeat, yet combining the soft feel with a nice anthemic chorus. This one has gig fave potential because of the nice singable chorus (“Can you tell me ten words that you use to describe the world”). This one seems to contain a certain awe (“all these things that you don’t know, it seems so much better that way”) about, well everything really. A nice, unjaded song. Even if you don’t have a clue what he’s on about, it’s a nice song to sit back and just let it wash over you, due to the soft guitars and soaring canon vocalisation.

10.“Stay the Same” Gritty enough to cut your ears on

I’ll hand it to them; they’re good at contrasting their tracks. Another jumpalong mosh fest is this one, opening with a squall of guitar feedback, and lurching
into a very American radio-rock guitar riff, and a great singalong chorus (which basically consists of “Stay the same” repeated over and over in between other lines). For some reason though, Idlewild seem to be able to take a formula like this, which has been well worn, and add an individualised feel to it. The intelligent vocals and clever arrangements prevent them from ever sounding like anything else. A great, fuzzed up rock song, which unfortunately contains an obligatory, unimpressive guitar solo which will nevertheless impress many (i.e., pop kids and mini skater kids). C'mon Rod, we know you can do better. Great song though.

11.“In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction” Good god this song is amazing.

Along with “American English” this is the best song on the album. The first verse is played with a soft acoustic line, and a ticking, slow drumbeat and low bass line are added in during the second verse. The soft guitar line echoes the haunting vocal tune beautifully. Contains yet more gorgeous lyrics, which manage to be both distinctive yet lovely. “So I’ll wait til I find, the remote part of your heart” and “Even if the breath between us, smells like alcohol”. Then comes the real genius of the song, a heavier sound with pianos, a harder drumbeat and the same haunting guitar line, and a poem called “Scottish Fiction” spoken by Scots poet Edwin Morgan. And it fits together absolutely perfectly. Idlewild tend to finish albums with soft, slow paced songs, and despite the fact that its never raw vitriolic rock, it always makes far more of an impact than faster songs might make. This one is no exception, except in being exceptionally beautiful, even by Idlewild’s standards. It is, in my opinion, one of their strongest songs to date, and for all its lack of catchy hooks and bouncy guitar lines, it still has a strange compulsive feel to it, and I often find myself putting
this one on repeat when I reach the end of the album.

All in all, I’d have to take a wild (no pun intended) leap into the indie camp and say this is far, far better than anything Idlewild have produced before. The melodic beauty they began playing with in “Hope is Important” and developed in “100 Broken Windows” has become fully fledged. It has pop moments; indie moments, rock moments and the odd punk fit, but yet has the intelligence of an REM record (I’m sick of hearing those comparisons, but it is totally true). They have been dismissed in the past as REM copyists, but this has never been true and is never farther from the truth than now. One of the beauties of 'Wild is their completely unique sound. They combine influences as wide as the Smiths and Nirvana, REM and Sonic Youth, and they put it in one big melting pot, and come out with their own sound, which is undeniably different, for many reasons, not least of all the odd lyrics, very Scottish vocals both of which contrast with ear-friendly melodies, which combined with lyrics by a less intelligent band would merely be part of a 'fun' and very good song, not a spectacular one, but when Roddy adds his magic its poetry, spectacular, wonderful and beautiful. This album is absolutely gorgeous, every song in it is completely flawless, and it’s as close to a masterpiece as anything in my oversized music collection. Here we have Idlewild embracing the world, poetry, melody, popularity, rock, pop, indie and punk, and saying, “screw you” to the doubters. I think it’s destined to be a classic.

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