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Idlewild: The Remote
Part
I started the engine of my 1990 Honda Civic DX and was confronted with music I didnt recognize. It had been a few days since Id driven my car, and my first thought, for some inexplicable reason, was that someone had broken into my car and inserted a CD that they wanted me to listen to. I pulled out of the parking lot, listening to the opening track of the disc and then I thought, Hmm, I hope it wasnt a friend of mine who made this disc, because it really isnt very interesting and I dont want to have to tell them that. The mystery continued on Washington Blvd as I listened to the disc, growing less and less enchanted and more and more fidgety; and I kept thinking to myself Wow, this seems like a stab at recapturing indie rock when it was new. I pulled up outside my house, ejected the CD, and lo and behold, it was Idlewilds newest album The Remote Part (the 2003 U.S. release) that I had listened to at least three times prior to the occasion. My thoughts during my drive pretty much sum up what I still think: this disc is rehashing mid to late-90s indie rock in a connect-the-dots manner, and ultimately ends up (for me quite obviously) pretty forgettable. This swaggery collection of mop-haired boys (veterans of The Late Show with David Letterman) whose previous album was dubbed by Spin as the number one album you didnt hear in 2000 seem to have a nice, safe thing going. Theyve built their band up on the piles of those who have gone before. They have been spring-boarded from relative anonymity into the listening mainstreams of the United Kingdom and the United States. Its not that they dont deserve to be there they are a perfectly capable and talented band, and if they had released their last album in 1998 I would probably be singing their praises; but they didnt, and Im not. That being said, this isnt a bad album by any means. Its entertaining, well-produced, and well-contrived. Idlewild have their style of song-writing down pat, making tight well-written songs, but also falling victim to repetition and the undesirable effect of The Remote Part wearing thin halfway through the first listen. I hear a lot of The Alkaline Trio in this disc, so if you like The Alkaline Trio, or yearn for the days of The Get Up Kids and The Promise Ring youll probably like this disc quite a bit. As for me, Im trying to keep my eyes on the horizon, not in the rearview mirror.
This album can be purchased at Amazon, Insound, and CD Universe LEFT OFF THE DIAL's Idlewild page About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
