Idlewild - A Ghost In The Arcade (Sequel)
3/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
Some people have held that Idlewild are the next R.E.M. and while that looked so permissible at one point, like during the reign of 'American English', the dream quickly diminished as album after single failed to live up to that prospect.
That said, 'A Ghost in the Arcade' is a fine little song, not their best, but it certainly puts them back on track towards that lofty goal. Its gleaming riffs cross-over between pop and metal (what? Yeah, metal!) in a way that hasn't sounded as good since the band's superlative early days. Whilst you're recovering from that shock, they throw some electronic keys into the mix and demolish the corridors of slowed down Interpollian gloom that they've been building up over the past few years. The only thing that's letting it down is the one thing which has been their saving grace since 1998... the vocals. Here Roddy sounds uncharacteristically lacklustre and featureless, annoyingly so in fact, not in any way matching up to the high-tempo vibe of the song.
Despite the vocals' rather frivolous attempt at trying to run a race with the songs extravagance, a race which only gets interesting during the chorus, it's still OK, a placid and aggrieved OK, but an OK even so. It could be so much more, we all know the band are capable, but as always there's something missing - that vital ingredient that made songs like 'Love Steals Us From Loneliness', their last decent tune, sound so great. Until they figure out how to re-inject their songs with the same harmonic dexterity, they will remain a band who are OK - but one we hope will still one day be regarded as important.
Watch the video to 'A Ghost In The Arcade' HERE.
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