10 Scottish Bands You Need To Listen To
6. Idlewild
Formed in Edinburgh in 1995 when vocalist Roddy Woomble met drummer Colin Newton and guitarist Rod Jones at a party, Idlewild are a five-piece indie rock band known for their poetic lyrics and pleasant rock melodies.
Taking their name from L.M Montgomery's 1908 novel Anne Of Green Gables, the band recently released their ninth studio album Interview Music in April 2019. However, the sound that defined their earlier years differed greatly from what they're known for now. Described by NME as "the sound of a flight of stairs falling down a flight of stairs", tracks like 'Queen Of The Troubled Teens' and 'Chandler' were much more frantic and chaotic, having more in common with punk than indie rock.
It wasn't until their second full-length album 100 Broken Windows that they began to adopt the mellower sound that's followed them throughout their career ever since. But it was their next album, The Remote Part, that gave this band the recognition they deserved, becoming their most commercially successful project to date, reaching No.3 in the UK charts.
Containing tracks 'American English' and 'In Remote Part/Scottish Fiction' - featuring a poem by late poet Edwin Morgan - this is a great place to start.