Review Summary: Idlewild skim through their influences with decent results.
For my first taste of Idlewild I decided to start from the beginning. There aren’t many bands that show a type of potential in only their debut album, but Idlewild do showcase it well. Released in 1998, ‘Captain’ carries a lot of genre influences – most importantly a punkish attitude throughout the album.
The main component of Idlewild’s ‘Captain’ (it seems from what I’ve heard all their other albums are their lyrics). Clocking in only at 1:58 the hyper hardcore-esque “Self Healer” is straight forward and short enough to appreciate. The constant screams of “This song is a beautiful lie” echoes throughout. Idlewild seem to take a different approach in the next track as “Annihilate Now!” is a lot poppier, but carries a heavier guitar riff throughout the song. The same lyrical structure stays intact, but adds more lyrical content.
Honestly, Idlewild’s ‘Captain’ feels like a mesh of grungy, punkish, hardcore vocals riding through a poppy atmosphere. ‘Captain’ is a somewhat downer album. Let me elaborate, it feels a bit cheerless , I think this adds to its intensity, yet the poppy tracks like “Last Night I Missed The Fireworks” and “Satan Polaroid”. Idlewild doesn’t seem to stick with one preference bouncing around their influences left and right. The best track is by far “Satan Polaroid”. It offers the most structured and varied (lyrically wise), unlike most of the album. The backing vocals echo throughout the album and “Satan Polaroid” is the best instance of perfecting it by the band.
The closer is a lot more subdued in the beginning – it doesn’t start up completely quickly. Roddy Woomble (the lead vocals) takes the lead with “You Just Have To Be Who You Are” and after his moment of clear vocals the guitar and bass kick in hyper drive. This goes back and forth, but the problem is we become disinterested at this point. The guitar playing attempts to be a bit creative, but the drumming really drives the song. The song extends far too long and even the band seems a bit disinterested. Once it hits the 3 minute mark the song stretches far longer than need be.
The first of Idlewild tastes sweet, yes, but it does seem like they’re trying to find their groove in a heap of influences. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise since you do see the varied talent throughout the album. A very widely and interchanging Idlewild debut.
This Message Edited On 01.07.09
