Now don’t get me wrong. It’s not that The Remote Part is not an enjoyable listen. It’s just that until this point Idlewild had been on an upward trajectory. Each release until now had improved upon the previous. Their last release, the excellent 100 Broken Windows, was their best effort to date. The boys had me expecting big things out of The Remote Part. However, something is missing. Maybe it’s the fact that their latest is too polished. Already a major act in their native UK The Remote Part definitely has the chops to crack mainstream radio in North America in a big way. Really, the whole thing is chock-full of potential singles. They can be found in all three flavors; Fast, Medium and Slow. Filed under Fast include “A Modern Way of Letting Go” and “Out of Routine”. Representing team Medium are “American English” and “Century After Century”. While “I Never Wanted” and “Live in a Hiding Place” could inspire arena lighter treatment everywhere. The punk spirit of their earlier days has been completely stripped away, but that’s been happening little by little with each release. Longtime fans may wish for a mid-career crisis to bring them back to those earlier days. I tend to think that the new edition is here to stay. Maybe we need to accept Idlewild for the band that they have become and enjoy The Remote Part for what it is, instead of what it's not. 1. You Held the World in Your Arms
2. A Modern Way of Letting Go
3. American English
4. I Never Wanted
5. (I Am) What I Am Not
6. Live in a Hiding Place
7. Out of Routine
8. Century After Century
9. Tell Me Ten Words
10. Stay the Same
11. In Remote, Pt.1/Scottish Fiction
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