7/10

Having taken a break in 2010, friendship and the bind of creativity brought Idlewild back together for 2015's 'Everything Ever Written'. With a slight change of line-up, the band felt a renewed sense of purpose and made a bold step forward with new album 'Interview Music'. Written in Los Angeles and recorded in Edinburgh, the new full-length maintains the indie-rock DNA of Idlewild's earlier work, with the compelling addition of more experimental elements ranging from ambient to Americana.

The albums themes are coded with lyrical vagueness and riddles, all delivered with a unique perspective. "A lot of the songs are about dreams and dreaming and the thoughts and ideas that come from this state", says lead vocalist, Roddy Woomble. "I live in the Scottish Highlands, and between there and California you've got two locations that can put you in a dream like state. The world seems unreal, magical. You're dreaming through a landscape".

This other-worldly inspiration has clearly shaped the reflective nature of 'Interview Music'. A new-found maturity is evident in the album’s twisting sound which culminates in an infectious sense of abandon. Most notable on tracks like 'I Almost Didn't Notice' and 'Mount Analogue', Idlewild's adventurous intentions honour their self-made origins. As Woomble explains, "what's really important about Idlewild is that we are basically punk rock kids; No one ever taught us how to play anything. We formed a band and we learned. In our own way. I'm not a kid rolling around screaming into a microphone on the floor anymore, but that ideal is still at our core".