Wednesday 11.17.10: IDLEWILD @ echo

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Both a leap forward artistically as well as conceptually, Idlewild’s sixth studio LP, Post Electric Blues, will be released stateside October 12 via Nice Music Group. The revered Scottish folk-punk septet will follow this up with their long-awaited return to the U.S. this fall, for the first time in five years. The tour will launch with a two-night stand at The Echo in Los Angeles on November 16 and 17 and snake its way up the West Coast for several dates before heading east to New York for back-to-back nights at the Bowery Ballroom on November 22 and 23, then finally wrapping in Chicago.

This album was an experiment for the veteran band, who after more than a decade of having the support of a record label, found themselves in 2007 on their own. Not wanting to continue down the same perilous path they’d walk before, they took a chance; instead of chasing a deal, they turned to their fans. The gamble was a triumph – both emotionally and financially – and an outpouring of fan support energized the band. Thousands of fans pre-ordered the album via the band’s website and facilitated its creation. The result is an album that pays tribute to the group’s 15-year history while pushing their sound into new directions.

Post Electric Blues finds the band with a rejuvenated spirit, as the Boss-like-bombast that pours out of the speakers attests. Formed in 1995 in Edinburgh, Idlewild has consistently churned out albums oozing of melodic, hook-driven pop-rock and for their latest, they leap from Fleetwood Mac epic folk/rock/pop peaks to joyous Loch-side sing-alongs with the same devil-may-care attitude that put the band on the map. It’s the sound of a deft and defiant group, comprised of frontman Roddy Woomble on vocals; Rod Jones on guitar, backing vocals, keyboards; Colin Newton on drums, percussion; Allan Stewart on guitar and Gareth Russell on bass.