A New Winter

One of our favourite bands from our teens, Idlewild stormed onto the scene with this mini-album/EP 'Captain'. It still feels as fresh today as it did 23 years ago and we will take it track by track.It's a blessing that Idlewild's Captain is compressed into a mere six tracks. In this time, Idlewild evoke so many great bands that Captain proves a staggering introduction. Idlewild's initial charm is, basically, that they rock. That much is beyond dispute. But between the amphetamine buzz offered by "Last Night I Missed All The Fireworks", the black metal thrashes of "You Just Have To Be Who You Are" and the glorious, explosive choruses of "Satan Polaroid" there's the signs of an incendiary presence that can reconcile the bubblegum grunge of the Foo Fighters with their desperate, angry roots in Nirvana and still have space to invite in the portentous riffs of the likes of Metallica or Soundgarden. Captain says everything it needs to say, and it says it fast. If only some other bands had such terrific brevity. --L