The singles You held the world in your arms and American English are rhythmic, melodic and the latter is particlulary haunting with its flowing guitar riff and the somewhat paradoxed lyric ' I think your young without youth'

Stand out tracks-
American English
In remote part - poetry and a dramtic finale- what more could you want?
Out of routine - blistering chorus and the best of the songs which represent the old idlewild.

Ones to avoid-
Century after Century - its got a gary numan 80s electronica feel to it which doesn't work. The b-side to the 'you held..' single 'a distant history' would have been a better inclusion.

Overall its a very good album and hints of 100 broken windows remain (modern way of letting go, out of routine, i am what i am not) and the mellow touches are nice if too much in the majority.
Still, it's a welcome break from the papa roach nu-metal generation which is well past its used by date. I woud recommend this as it is still a very good cd but don't expect the same indie punk rollicking that broken windows and hope is important gave you.

Your cheekbones don't taste of anything at all
Idlewild's brilliant third album, The Remote Part, turned my expectations on their head. As a newcomer to the work of this Scottish four-piece, I'd anticipated loud guitars and lyrical angst, but what I got was much more finely crafted than that. Reminiscent of early REM and The Smiths, this album is (dare I say it) better than anything those bands have produced - it's really that good.

The Remote Part erupts into the melodic cacophony of guitars, synth and strings that is You Held the World in Your Arms - the first single and a blistering, standout, track. With it's adrenaline up, the album's momentum is carried along with the riff-heavy squall of A Modern Way of Letting Go. This breathless dual assault sets the stakes pretty damn high, but track three, American English, is the near perfect complement - a slowburning paean to the egoism of art which looks set to launch Idlewild as a global concern, with its compulsory singalong chorus. You may expect the quality to level off after that, but the fourth track, I Never Wanted, somehow manages to maintain it. A gently subversive love song boasting a gorgeous double guitar coda at the end, it calls to mind Teenage Fanclub at their most poignant - which is a considerable compliment.

Inevitably not every track could be as excellent as the first four, and the record treads water somewhat with (I am) What I am not. However, Live in a Hiding Place sees the band back on track with it's acoustic/electric guitar split personality, and will be the third single release. Out of Routine is a thunderous blast of Beach Boys harmonies and guitars on overdrive, boasting possibly the catchiest chorus on the CD. Century After Century is a touch experimental, and one of my least favourite tracks, though it does contain the gloriously cryptic lyric "And your cheekbones don't taste of anything at all" - as if they should!

The album closes with three more classic tracks, Tell Me Ten Words, Stay the Same, and the incandescent In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction, with it's delicate, moody acoustic riff which evolves into a wig-out in minor keys with a spoken word voice-over opining "Do you think your security will keep you in purity?/ You will not shake us off, above or below".

The Remote Part is the finest rock album released so far this year. If anyone tries to convince you that The Vines are the real deal, lend them this CD. My guess is you won't hear them mention The Vines again.

Still the best band you've never heard of in the States...
How this band has managed to remain virtually unknown on this side of the pond continues to baffle me. Three absolutely brilliant albums put out by this groundbreaking band and Americans still continue to waste their music listening time with forgettable drivel like Avril Levine, Creed and Matchbox Twenty. Even when a Brit band does manage some success on these shores, it turns out to be some shallow pseudo pop like Coldplay or Travis.

Idlewild followed their punk-laden debut "Hope is Everywhere" with the noticeably more polished "100 Broken Windows", arguably one of the best albums from start to finish in decades. Now, the band continues to evolve with a touch more personal sounding album. Their sound is still difficult to describe, and the common R.E.M. comparisons just don't do them justice. They have a touch of nostalgic late 80's/early 90's 4AD or Creation Records kind of feel, but without sounding the least bit dated. Roddy Woomble's voice has an adaptability that sounds equally great on more accessible indiepop sounds (opening track "You Held the World in Your Arms", ), droning moodsetting clips ("Century After Century"), mellow, introspective pieces ("Live in a Hiding Place", "American English"), or the slightly more punk tracks ("Stay the Same", "(I Am) What I Am Not"). This CD runs a compilation of sounds with Idlewild sounding equally adept at each. And, unlike other bands looking to breakout, they actually retain their accent while singing! Good choice...

Although I'd place this album just a half step behind the previous album, "100 Broken Windows", that still places it fifty long paces ahead of the vast majority of bands today. If you have any doubts that excellent music is still being produced today, get a hold of this masterpiece and quell those fears.

contracting american dreams
Idlewild's website encourages you to "support your local poet." No wonder their records contain nods to Gertude Stein and Walt Whitman, as well as samples from famed Scottish writer Edwin Morgan. But, "it's no novel, these are songs," insists singer Roddy Woomble. Although lyrics like, "I didn't hear cheerleading for creative writers," seem to negate most of that statement.

After the band's last record "100 Broken Windows" received rave reviews (including Spin Magazine's Best Band You've Never Heard award, a nod that led partly to their release stateside on Capital) the band's third full-length release "The Remote Part" is once again an import-only gem (at least until 2003) to be found only on major web sites like Amazon, and local record stores that still have the wherewithal to dig for great overseas acts.

But that hasn't stalled much of Idlewild's greatness. Still intact is the Murmur-meets-Nevermind sound that made the band so exciting in the first place.

The album begins with the bombastic crush of distorted guitars complete with string arrangement and full on stereo-phonic glee that is "You Held the World in Your Arms Tonight," followed closely by the equally energetic "A Modern Way of Letting Go."

But what succeeds mostly on this record are the more offbeat and balladesque numbers (American English, All I Never Wanted, Live in a Hiding Place, Tell Me Ten Words, In Remote Part / Scottish Fiction). "Love songs never being on the agenda. People songs most definitely are," says singer Roddy, whose voice comes off all too often as a young Michael Stipe. His lyrics seems constantly bothered by self doubt, social confusion, romantic mirage, and false intellectualism. But what doesn't shine in life certainly does on the stereo. Lines like, "losing isn't learning to be lost / it's learning to know when you're lost," "I think you're young without youth," "what I want is on it's way out," are years apart from journal-entry approach that covers most of their post-Nirvana peers.

Rod Jone's guitar work ranges from the searing and searching hiss of the opening two tracks, to the more delicate and drone threads apparent on songs like "American English" and "Live in a Hiding Place." while drummer Colin Newton and departed bassist Bob Fairfoull keep a tight pocket throughout.

The band occasionally meanders into the tired foray of modern pop-punk (the ironically titled, "Out of Routine" and "Stay the Same") but still manages to release another overall triumph, even if it will go mostly unheard this side of the English Channel. But with diverse influences ranging from Beck and Bob Dylan to Kiss and Meatloaf, it certainly isn't much of a surprise that the band aren't regulars on TRL. But then again, when's the last time quality had all that much to do with popularity.

Good
This album is really good. Though it's not quite as good as '100 Broken Windows'. Still, everyone who I know who has both albums say this is better, you'll have to make your own mind up.
Third album for Scottish indie-rockers. 11 tracks including the first single, 'You Held The World In Your Arms'. Includes video/film enhanced section. 2002.
The Third Album from the Now Former Post Punk Thrashers Sees them Take a Giant Leap Forward to Becoming Intelligent, Thoughtful Art Rockers. Nme Proclaims, "Polished, Professional and Practically Flawless - an Album That'll Punch Every Indie-schmindie Sneer of their Critics' Faces and See them Conquer the Majority of Known Space and Couple of Planets."