Remote Part

Japanese edition of the third album for the Scottish indie-rockers. Includes two bonus tracks, 'The Nothing I Know' & 'Poor Thing'. 13 tracks in all. EMI. 2002.

Having spent the majority of their career languishing in alternative rock's second division despite churning out superior guitar pop, Idlewild present The Remote Part as their bid for wider acclaim. "You Held the World in Your Arms" displays the kind of grand gestures that have previously eluded the Scottish four-piece and the anthemic "American English" is bigger still. REM remain an obvious role model for Roddy Woomble and team, with songs like "(I Am) What I Am Not" and "Tell Me 10 Words" recalling Document's similar shift in gear. Alas, Woomble is sometimes a little too in thrall to Michael Stipe's obtuse wordplay. He hides behind lines like "Losing isn't learning to be lost, it's learning to know when you're lost" when he should, by his own admission, "Sing a song about himself, not some invisible woman." Minor gripes aside, The Remote Part buzzes with ambition, energy, and intelligence. --Ian Watson