With jangly guitar hooks and straight-ahead drums, Post Electric Blues could just as easily define a genre as it does the latest offering from Idlewild. With a great blend of classic rock and British indie pop, this is the product of a veteran band having fun.
Stemming from Edinburgh, Scotland, Idlewild have a unique sound: vaguely reminiscent of everything, but not quite sounding like anything. While some songs on the album sound similar to the Hold Steady, others evoke more of the early 2000s' pop-punk.
The contrast between this record and the band's earliest offerings is ridiculous. Avoiding the driven punk that dominated Idlewild's older material, Post Electric Blues offers its listener radio-friendly rock with clever lyrics and great guitar riffs. This album is the product of the sound that Idlewild has slowly developed over the course of their past five albums. But while this record is solid, it is not their best.
Album opener ""Younger than America"" has an infectious guitar hook with some intricate bass work underneath it. The vocals are emotional and energetic and they don't stray far from the center. Heidi Talbot lends vocals to the final verse and chorus of the track, making the relatively stagnant performance of lead vocalist Roddy Woomble more dynamic.
Woomble sticks to a pretty narrow vocal range for most of the record, which is disappointing for such a veteran band. The vocal performance on the band's earlier records, specifically 100 Broken Windows, is much more dynamic than that of Post Electric Blues. In spite of his disappointing vocals, however, the record is still a fantastic effort thanks to the cohesive instrumentation.
""City Hall"" features crooned vocals reminiscent of early Smoking Popes records. This gives the song a very alt-rock feel, with an inflection that screams ""getting over you."" This is by far the catchiest track on the album.
The fourth track, ""(The Night Will) Bring You Back,"" is an acoustic ditty that features some of the strongest vocal work on the album. With strong lead vocals and great underlying harmonies, it sounds like an old country tune. Idlewild revisit this country influence on ""Take Me Back to the Islands"" and ""Take Me Back in Time.""
""All Over Town"" isn't quite a punk song, but it certainly amps up the feeling of the album. The guitar work is fantastic, contributing harmonies to what is undoubtedly the best vocal track on the album. The straightforward drums lend to the punk feel of the song, while the walking bass line extends the range of the song and adds movement to the low end.
While ""Post-Electric"" serves as the title track, by no means does it define the sound of the album. With a bridge that digresses into experimental rock, Idlewild seem out of their element on ""Post-Electric."" The bluesy sound of the song, however, offers new and interesting territory for the band—something we can hope to see them further explore in the future.
A solid offering from a veteran band, this record isn't going to turn too many heads. Yet, with a few standout tracks and not a single unlistenable cut, it's absolutely worth at least one listen. Though they haven't matched the high level of music they made on Hope is Important or The Remote Part, Idlewild prove they still have plenty of musical ability with Post Electric Blues.
