Idlewild – Make Another World (Sanctuary)
Judging from the last Idlewild album, Warnings/Promises, it seemed like the band was heading down that long road called middle age. This was a path that became even more certain when leader Roddy Woomble released a solo album last year (My Secret Is My Silence) that was heavy on acoustic folk.
For me, this was a real drag as I was a huge fan of the band’s earlier material, particularly 1998’s Captain and 2000’s stellar 100 Broken Windows. On both offerings, Idlewild wore its influences (early 90s rock) proudly on its sleeve, but managed to do it with such unbridled enthusiasm that you’d swear that they just discovered their older brother’s Sub Pop records and started the band out of sheer passion. I think people call that “youthful exuberance.”