They recently played new songs from their forthcoming album at an NME gig and I thought it fell a bit flat. But last night things seemed to have improved. Listening to their new songs, they seem to get better and better with every listen. Their new material is in the same vein as “Love the Cup” but at 7 songs long, it left you wanting more. New single “Dance Me In” should hopefully be a radio hit if anything.

There is great chemistry between Scott and Adele, while Ailidh stands nonchalantly playing the bass and the mandolin. They seemed to have ditched their glamorous 50’s dresses seen at previous gigs, which is a shame. Their new songs sound fresh and exciting but the standout songs were “Broken Bones” and “Johnny Cash”. They are the most original and exciting band along with British Sea Power to be spewed out of this current wave of new British wave. With the Delgados now disbanded, they could easily fill the void with their blend of country rock intelligent music.

The year was 1998, ‘Something about Mary’ was raking in the cash at the box office, England were embracing themselves for yet another World Cup exit and a little known Scottish band named Idlewild released their debut EP, ‘Captain’. Back then the band were all about how loud they could turn up their amps and how dirty they could get rolling around the floor of a sweaty club in Edinburgh. Fast forward seven years and the Idlewild of 2005 is a very different affair, they’ve chilled out a lot and the musical and writing ability have changed substantially, now heading towards more of a Snow Patrol kind of sound.

Following the bands recent acoustic tour, tonight they play the second of a two night sold out residency at the Shepherds Bush Empire and I don’t think I was the only person in the crowd to be more than a little impressed. The set contained a nice mixture of tracks from all albums which the crowd responded to with huge appreciation. Highlights included American English, You Held the World in Your Arms and latest single Love steals us from Loneliness but all songs were done justice at the hands of this Scottish 5–piece. Lead singer Roddy Woomble interacted with the crowd like old friends right from the opening chords of opening song Too Long Awake until the encore which consisted of four acoustic numbers including a cover of Neil Young’s Looking for a Love.

Recently they came third in a nationwide poll of the greatest Scottish bands of all time and from this it’s clear their fan base is growing almost as fast as their stature at the pinnacle of the British music scene.

Sons & Daughters review by Sonia Pagliari
Idlewild review by Rob Bassett
www.idlewild.co.uk
www.sonsanddaughtersloveyou.com

Idlewild, the third greatest Scottish band of all time? What about Urusei Yatsura? - Talk on the Messageboard