Review: Idlewild - Make Another World

I've been a believer in Idlewild since their epic sophmore full-length, 100 Broken Windows, was officially released back in 2000. I listened to that album on heavy heavy heavy rotation for years. Then, I fell in love with The Remote Part, which was a brilliant follow-up to 100BW.

Slowly but surely I got into their back catalog: the debut punk-influenced EP, Captain, and their first LP, the equally rascally, Hope Is Important. When 2005's Warnings/Promises saw the light of day, it got completely and brutally bashed by critics, claiming that the band had lost all sorts of 'edge' they may have had years back and that they had fallen into the 'REM trap'. By that, I believe that they meant, their songs had lost that initial draw which made them so distinct in the first place. I happened to disagree with the majority of the reviewers on this one. Sure, W/P was definitely not Idlewild's strongest release to date but it had enough kick, drive and sheer passion that screamed IDLEWILD; no other band could have made that album. Oh, and it sounded NOTHING like any current REM rubbish.

Now, here we are, the band is just about to release their fifth album, Make Another World. When 'If It Takes You Home' was given away as a free download on their official site last month, I was elated because the tune brought to mind early Idlewild and a sense of urgency that perhaps W/P was missing. Well, the ten songs that comprise their latest release, actually run the gamut from 2-and-a-half-minute thrashing guitar numbers (notably 'If It Takes You Home' + 'Everything As It Moves') to slow burners like 'Future Works' & 'You And I Are Both Away'.

I regretfully must say that Make Another World is inconsistent and honestly, their weakest album. Believe me, it pains me to admit this but there are very few redeeming tracks on the LP. The slower tunes sound they'd fit perfectly on your local adult contemporary radio station (yikes!) and the upbeat tunes don't hold a candle to anything on their earlier releases. However, there's some gold on MAW and I've included one of those tracks below. Only time will tell if this one will improve with repeated listens and I surely hope it does.

MP3: Idlewild - A Ghost In The Arcade (removed by request of management)