Idlewild

Idlewild have been stirring up things over in the UK, and rightfully so; their debut album Hope Is Important is one of the finest albums of the year. Comparisons have been made to nearly every band with any credit, including R.E.M., whom they've been mostly compared to. However, Idlewild -- or iDLEWiLD, as their die-hard UK fans refer to them as -- seem to draw more from indie punks of the early '90s. Either way, these boys put on one of the finest live shows around with a singer who collapses on the floor in a face grabbing fit while walking into the audience to get a better view of the crowd, and a guitarist who literally sings into his guitar. USMV sat down with Roddy and Rod (singer and guitarist respectively) of Idlewild in the basement of the Mercury Lounge just before their NYC show for a room full of admirers.

Do you like America?

Yeah, we’ve been here for a few weeks because we’re doing some recording for a new album, as well. Hope Is Important came out almost a year ago in England, so we’ve had some time. We didn’t know until about two weeks ago when the record was being released here.

Don't you ever feel intimidated by the size of this country, wondering where you should start?

It was kind of daunting, really. Last year we did about 120 gigs in Britain and then played all over Europe with the Manic Street Preachers, getting a big following that we got used to. We got here to Milwaukee and played for about 15 people!

How do you pass all the time in the tour bus?

Well, we don’t have a tour bus, but we have a fancy minivan, with all of our stuff in a U-Haul. I just stare out the window and listen to CDs like Catpower, Supertramp and the Getup Kids, which I just bought in Chicago.

Hope Is Important seems kind of harder than the others, much faster.

Well, when we first began, we were definitely influenced by Sonic Youth and Black Flag, but we’re much more into melodic stuff now, which reflects in the songs we’re writing. Playing loud music is just an easy way to get your ideas across, and it’s much harder trying to write really good melodies. There’s still a noisy element to it, but we’ve become more articulate.

What does ‘brat-pop’ mean?

It’s just that a couple of papers, mainly Melody Maker, felt the need to put young bands under ‘brat-pop.’ British press is constantly trying to make a scene out of nothing, and in ‘brat-pop,’ they just put all the young bands together, regardless of the sound.

Any pre-show rituals?

No, but there was once a band that we toured with that did some rituals. It was so hilarious. They would all scream, and it was so bad. They would bounce off the walls, and then go on and be blunt.

What has been your biggest rock excess so far? Any hotel trashing?

No, I think that whole thing has gone out of fashion. I think if someone threw a TV out of a window, I’d just go down and pick it up. It’s sort of cliché, I think, to say ‘we’re in band, so we should cause chaos.’ And also, if Guns ‘n Roses did it, they’d get away with it, but we’re an indie rock band, so if we did it, they’d think we were just crazy.