I went to see Scottish fourpiece Idlewild play last night at a smoky pub crammed with three hundred drunken, reeking Saskatonians. I had pretty high expectations, as I heard they put on a great show and were going to be opening for Pearl Jam on their next world tour, but…wow. Definitely the best band I’ve seen in at least the past year, and that includes seeing Frank Black and the Catholics two weeks ago. Loads of breathless punk energy mixed with ragged Brit rock. I think I got actual bruises from sitting so close to the speakers.
Kudos to the pub that put on this show, since apparently even if Idlewild sold out the place the pub wasn’t going to make back the money it took to get them to show up. So I did my part and tried to drink them into profitability.
A great band, a noble cause, and oceans of beer = more fun than one person can rightfully expect to have on a Sunday evening.
Since this is like the fourth time in the past 2 days I’ve heard Idlewild mentioned (synchronicity has me in its clutches again! Arrgh!) I think I’ll check them out. Plus their name is cool and they’re Scottish! Yes! Do you have any songs/albums to recommend?
100 Broken Windows is a good place to start. It’s their second album, but it’s the one that got them a mention in Rolling Stone (take that for what it’s worth) as one of ten acts to watch for 2001. It’s raw and propulsive, yet also very melodic; my favorite songs are the opening track “Little Discourage,” “Idea Track,” and “I Don’t Have the Map.”
The Remote Part came out in 2002 (2003 in North America) and is a little more polished than its predecessor. They sort of slip into a bad U2 imitation on a couple of tracks, but overall it’s a strong album, too. “A Modern Way of Letting Go” and “(I Am) What I Am Not” totally rock, and “Live in a Hiding Place” is tender and sad.
I haven’t heard their first album, so I can’t help you out there.
I was lucky enough to catch them in Baltimore and interview them before the show. Really nice guys. Awesome show. And I highly recommend any of their albums except their debut EP Captain, which is uneven and hard to get here in the States. If you want a taste, I’d go for “American English”, “(Let Me Sleep) Next to the Mirror” and “When I Argue I See Shapes” in addition to the previously mentioned songs.
They were a featured band during last years Nokiagame ( www.nokiagame.com ), I will probably never listen to them, or to bloody Kosheen who were also featured. The music is great, but listening to one riff in a loop for 3 weeks turned me off forever.
Saw them when they were doing a tour of Australia earlier this year. The reputation for their live shows is basically well founded and I had a great time watching a brilliant set that consisted of material from all three albums.
Considering Spoon was on the next night at the same place, I had one hell of a weekend.
FWIW, the video to the song “A Modern Way” is featured on the Real.com homepage currently. First I have heard of them. Pretty good vocalist, but the riff to the song sure sounded like a pretty direct borrow of the The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Siva”.