Review Summary: You're only young once in this world...
Far back in the past, light years removed from the folk-rock tones of 'Warnings / Promises' or 'Post Electric Blues', Idlewild were a punk band. No acoustics, no piano, just full-on undiluted punk. And that long lost band of yore threw themselves into the genre with wild abandon, producing two very exciting nuggets of utter chaos entitled 'Captain' and 'Hope Is Important'.
This version of Idlewild had one thing on their minds; noise. And lots of it. Mixing the primal sounds of Fugazi with I.R.S era R.E.M, the band managed to create an almost euphoric moment of insane pop in the form of their debut mini-album 'captain'.
And it is very mini. The six tracks on offer here whizz by in around 21 minutes, leaving very little time for distractions or thought. And that is what brings the album it's biggest flaw. It's just too short. I swear, sometimes you spend more time searching for the CD and putting it in the stereo than actually listening to it. Thank god for the easy access of iPods and MP3 players!
But the pace of the album is also the record's blessing. There just aren't any weak spots on this disc. Once the thing starts, it never lets up with a consistent barrage of crunching guitars, catchy lyrics and bounce-around-the-livingroom energy.
The album starts with 'Self Healer', which was the first track that Idlewild ever wrote together. Over relentless distortion and a bullet train speed riff, vocalist Roddy Woomble shouts that "Culture gets too much for me!" before entering the songs spiraling refrain of "A song is a beautiful lie" over and over again. It's an ear catching opener.
'Annihilate Now!' really sounds like early R.E.M. It's a softer song, but with some obligatory guitar crackle and stomp in it's simple chorus of "Annihilate now, annihilate now, annihilate NOW!" It's another great, catchy moment and features the memorable lyric "I know you're supposed to do / Things you don't want to do... Why??".
The title track 'Captain' is something of an epic. Over a storm of hurricane guitars and booming drums, Woomble lets his full scream out of the bag, shrieking "You are the captain / WHAT?!" repeatedly over the chorus before the song takes a left turn with some swaggering outro work, replete with some muffled, hidden lyrics amid the din.
'Last Night I missed All The Fireworks' is just over 1 minute long and is the popiest moment on the album. Over an insane framework of distorted jangle and turbo charged drumming, the simple lyrics of "Last night I missed all the fireworks / I must be working too hard" are breathlessly introduced to sleep-prohibitively catchy effect.
The album's single 'Satan Polaroid' follows, and is the closest thing on 'Captain' to a ballad. Over lovely and surprisingly soft guitars, Woomble intones 'The sea is never calm / It always blows / I know it too" before the crunching punk lines return and the classic chorus of "It all seems kind of strange / And my drinking is getting deranged / But I consent / This is happiness" sends the mosh-pit into a frenzy once again.
Closer 'You Just Have To Be Who You Are' is another epic, starting from very basic clean guitar, through a massive amount of screaming and a lot of discordant guitar before we're left with one last final squall of feedback which then slides into an extended, quietly atmospheric outro with Roddy whispering "Are friends important any more? Who are REALLY my friends?" over low bass and clinical drums.
'Captain' is a fantastic mini-LP. It's pinpoint in it's punky attack, leaving no downtime or wasted motion. It was made to make you jump around and get sweaty, and it achieves that goal with aplomb. It's raw, energetic and volatile... I just wish Idlewild had kept more of these elements in their later works. But like that great closing line in 'Satan Polaroid' goes; "You're only young once in this world, you see that?"
