Idlewild – The Remote Part (Parlophone)

Idlewild have always bubbled on the fringes of the big-time, but never really shone, so when the first single from this collection ‘You Held The World In Your Arms’ went crashing into the top ten recently, it rather caught people on the hop. That’s not to say that it was undeserved, but the Scottish quartet’s indie-rock stylings are not exactly in keeping with the tastes of the average Pink or Gareth Gates fan.

What is even more incredible is that ‘…World…’ is perhaps the weakest track on a phenomenal album – seemingly the album that they’ve been trying to make for the past six years. Current single ‘American English’ is beautiful, melancholy and cohesive whilst the gorgeous ‘Live In A Hiding Place’ stands up as one of the most breathtaking power-ballads these tired ears have heard in a long time. (though it does conjour up associations with Green Day’s ‘Time Of Your Life’). Most intriguing of all is the contribution to ‘In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction’ by Scottish poet laureate Edwin Morgan.

It’s to Idlewild’s credit that they remain intrinsicly Scottish in sound and feel and yet avoid the pitfalls and cliches that hinder many of their contemporaries (and you KNOW who i’m talking about – though i’ve promised not to pick on them this month). A raw, organic, beautifully written and respectfully produced ‘indie’ album that should see their new found success echoed many times over. 8/10

Chris Merriman