Idlewild - 100 Broken Windows

The now-clichéd one-liner on the band is “R.E.M. meets the Sex Pistols. ”

Idlewild is not that simple. That’s not a bad snapshot of Hope Is Important, the band’s major label debut, but with their follow-up, 100 Broken Windows, Idlewild takes a significant step forward by melding alternative rock, punk, and British popular music into a unique approach to the contemporary rock sound.

Formed in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1995, Idlewild owes a debt to American alternative rock of the 80s and 90s (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Husker Du, Fugazi, Nirvana) they were hearing at the time (in addition to the aforementioned R.E.M. and the Pistols).

100 Broken Windows preserves the textured guitar noise of the band's punk and American alt-rock influences, but the songs are strong enough to allow Idlewild to pull back the curtain of blaring guitars just enough to reveal the band’s attention to song craft and well-constructed choruses, allowing the influence of British pub rock and the 80s Anglo pop that followed it to show through.

Despite all the sound and fury, and despite the minimalist approach to recording the album (it was recorded in snippets over a period of seven months in England, Scotland, Wales, and Chicago as the band continued to tour), this is not your father’s punk rock (and for that matter, it bears no resemblance to Blink 182 and the rest of what passes for punk rock in the US these days).

The lyrics are not what you typically find on albums this loud, either. As a lyricist, Roddy Woomble is closer to Michael Stipe than Johnny Rotten. “These Wooden Ideas” is an assault on postmodernism, while “Roseability” references Gertrude Stein.

The bands love of noisy guitar is untamed by studio machinations, yet their songs are strong enough to stand up to the waves of noise guitarist Rod Jones submerges them in.

I’m glad that this record has found its audience. It’s not perfect, but in the context of the glut of dancing pop stars, rap metal, and aging rock ‘n’ rollers trying to squeeze a few more bucks out of the industry before they retire to the French countryside that clog the charts these days, it’s nice to come across an album that sounds as loud and fresh as 100 Broken Windows.

--Matt Parks