ALBUM REVIEW – Idlewild – Everything Ever Written
The new record from the Scottish troubadours is them back at their very best
Album Reviews | Released
Idlewild – Everything Ever Written
Empty Words
4.5 out of 5
Loving a band is like investing in a relationship – you’re with them for the journey. Fans, like friends, can come and go but some remain strong. Sometimes we don’t always agree with their decisions, sometimes we get surprised by their choices, they’re the soundtrack to the best and greatest moments of our lives and equally the saddest and most introspective. The point is, loving a band is a personal relationship between the fan and that band.
When Idlewild burst onto the scene with ‘Captain’ then debut album ‘Hope Is Important’, they were young, bratty art school types with a leaning towards Dischord and a reputation for ridiculously energetic live performances. They were a mess but they were a glorious mess, young friends revelling in being in a band.
‘100 Broken Windows’ was their critically acclaimed second album and from start to finish they managed to combine melody, folk and blistering energy – they had honed their craft. Big label success came and went in a flash with ‘The Remote Part’ and ‘Warnings/Promises’ and as they grew older, they moved away from the spotlight and further away from that youthful energy they had bewitched fans and critics earlier in their careers. After ‘Make Another World’ then ‘Post Electric Blues’ they decided to call time on the band going on an indefinite hiatus. Idlewild had undergone many line-up changes and transformations through the years and now, in their thirties and Colin and Roddy now Fathers, it felt right to concentrate on life outside Idlewild.
Roddy explored his folkier side releasing his own solo records and collaborating with other artists. Rod had The Birthday Suit, which saw Rod step into the spotlight as a front man and he was damn good at it too. Their bonds still strong, the band decided to finally get together to record their latest offering ‘Everything Ever Written’. It’s their first studio album in over five years and it’s an interesting patchwork of memories and ideas with a glimpse into a band with renewed purpose.
‘Everything Ever Written’ is an album of experimentation and creative release. ‘Collect Yourself’ begins with Rod’s classic Idlewild riffs but it quickly takes a quirky turn and then sends us back again into an anthemic chorus as Roddy sings out ‘young but only for a moment in time.’ ‘Come On Ghost’ is like one long indie rock poem, intricate lyrics and guitars mirror one another – Roddy paints a lyrically abstract picture and, surprisingly, it works as a single.
Quickly, the album takes a turn with ‘So Many Things To Decide’ – forlorn whimsical folk. Glimmers of ‘anthemic’ Idlewild return with ‘Nothing I Can Do About It’, ‘(Use It) If You Can Use It’ and ‘On Another Planet’ but dotted in between are tracks of elegance and beauty like ‘Every Little Means Trust’ and ‘All Things Different’, again, this idea of a patchwork of themes and melodic ideas is really prevalent throughout.
Ardent fans of the band’s earlier records many need a few listens before they understand where they’re at now but the best way to listen to ‘Everything Ever Written’ is knowing that this is a band reborn, new members (Luciano Rossi and Andrew Mitchell), different experiences and a new found freedom in their art that is wonderful to hear.
Idlewild will never recreate another ‘100 Broken Windows’ again and they don’t have to. This album marks a new chapter of expression for the band who have found their wings again, a little older, a little wiser and hopefully here to stay.
Max Patton
