Idlewild - A Distant History: Rarities 1997-2007

Whether you’d noticed it or not, Scottish rockers Idlewild have been grinding it out for about a decade. To some this may be a surprise, especially to those who thought they’d called it a day a while back. Recent misfires and a general lack of presence have been their speciality of late, now looking more like museum pieces than active participants - perhaps a logical reason as to why their Parlophone stable have decided to cash in on the less famous nooks of their back catalogue. Slightly less logically, it’s only available as a downloadable collection, but you know, it’s all about the music, not the money, man.

Most appealing about ‘A Distant Future’ is the look into Idlewild’s less-celebrated but nonetheless impressive past. Around the turn of the millenium, Idlewild were an underground tour de force, more spicy and vigourous than the rock ‘n’ roll grandads wobbling around nowadays. Throughout these 20 tracks, Roddy Woomble and his assorted friends (not to mention the revolving door of bass playing duties) are still grinding their teeth, blooding their fingers and seemingly dropping their balls on a lot of the offerings, and throughout proceedings there is a taste of their glittering past without too many reminders of the somewhat stagnant present. It’s pleasant to note their influences throughout on the more experimental efforts, ringing with a resonance akin to college radio R.E.M in places, with dirtier noising reminiscent of grunge and the like.

Super duper early singles ‘Queen Of The Troubled Teens’ and ‘Chandelier’, although not chart eligible at the time, adequately lay out the blueprints for a future indie heavyweight, weedy and weighty in equal measures, more than likely to make any fan of early albums ‘Hope Is Important’ and ‘100 Broken Windows’ gurgle. Further down the line are memorable titbits and less memorable b-sides, but all in all ‘A Distant History’ is a rarities and b-sides compilation. And with the vast majority of such efforts, it’s a job for completists and fanatics alike. It is surprising, however, to note how many new acts today (both good and bad) reference Idlewild in their clanking and simple eloquence. The same goes for ‘A Distant History’, mirroring a slightly crap museum trip: interesting perhaps, but not overly enjoyable.