Idlewild, 'Hope Is Important'

Scottish bands are, without wishing to make sweeping generalisations, fairly innocuous. That’s not meant to come across as insulting but The Proclaimers, Belle And Sebastian, Travis and, er, the Bay City Rollers couldn’t ever be accused of making the listener check their CD player for feedback or distortion issues. The same applies to their lyrics: easy to understand and generally upbeat. In short: not much work for your ears.

The arrival of Glaswegian band Idlewild wasn’t so much a shot across the bows but more a full-bloodied aural and physical assault to the body, senses and pretty much everything in between. Vocalist Roddy Woomble had already built up a live reputation – if you’ll permit the metaphors to continue - of being something of a loose cannon. One moment he would calmly gaze at his shoes and gently serenade an audience…and then, without warning, his eyes would appear to bulge and a shrieking sound would leave his mouth and enter your ears. Delightfully, Idlewild’s debut album ‘Hope Is Important’ contains similar moments.

Its spirit comes from America and fuses early R.E.M with Nirvana. A night in with a bottle of wine and these three bands’ opening offerings should probably be listened to by yourself and not with a group of loved ones. ‘A Film For The Future’ is a menacing mission statement with ‘4 People Do Good’ coming across as an entertaining effort to be as noisy and, yet paradoxically, as restrained as possible. Don’t be put off though: whilst Woomble’s delivery does require attention, ‘Everyone Says You’re So Fragile’ is a joy to listen to and you’ll swear blind that Woomble is actually barking his way through the most commercial track on offer, ‘When I Argue I See Shapes’. Tremendous fun. And Michael Stipe himself would put ‘I’m Happy To Be Here Tonight’ on a constant loop, for it is the great R.E.M song that never was, thus proving that knowing your (musical) history is as important as hope.