Idlewild

Idlewild is just like a lot of the other albums i have looked at for this project when it comes to quality, Its not a very remarkable album but it is still fairly solid for what it is. The songs were all generally good sounding and never really felt annoying or super boring but there isn't really anything interesting i can really say about the majority of them. The saxophone and trumpet solos were cool and some of the songs did have that Super Nintendo sounding keyboard which i just like about it. This album is a fine listen, especially on valentines day with your significant other but it doesn't really do anything that other new wave albums from this time period haven't done.
Best Song: Goodbye Sunday
Worst Song: I Don't Want To Talk About It

Thoroughly meh

2.5

Not sure if this needs to be here. Thorn has a great voice, but the arrangements are bland and it lacks the emotional backbone of their later work.

80's cheese. It's like pop but smoother, with the addition of brass instruments. Definately different from the first album of theirs I reviewed (not necessarily bad, just odd).

Favourite songs: Apron Strings, Goodbye Sunday, Oxford Street, I Don't Want to Talk About It

Least favourite songs: The Night I Heard Caruso Sing

3/5

This thing is a rough listen, despite its clean production and great vocalists, as the whole thing is impeccably fake sounding. The instrumentation varies from smooth jazz lounge guitar playing to drum machines that would make the biggest pop stars from the time look away in fear, and the singing, while technically impressive, is a dime a dozen, and does nothing to stand above contemporaries. Perhaps it is to be celebrated for its safe textures in an era of unknowing, as if there is one thing this album is sure of, it's itself, but the whole thing is sleep inducing, and that can get aggravating even forty minutes later. An interesting juxtaposition to the music they would go on to make, but certainly not something to enjoy, as there are far smoother albums from the era in the same general genre as this one that go down far better.

I don't even know what this is. How many albums are on this list again?! Will I like it? Let's judge an album by its cover. We have a very aged looking photograph of a man and a woman and the man has a suit on and a boutonnier - classic prom shoot. But they look like they may be a gay couple (she has short hair - could just be the 80's; and he is maybe a bit ambiguous - I'm not judging, just guessing). The title is Everything But The Girl, which could either mean he has everything but he laments losing her or he wants everything but the girl. Let's listen and read some Wikipedia and Genius Lyrics and find out!

Well I was wrong, the title isn't Everything But The Girl... That's the band name. The album name is Idlewild, which evokes images of being wild within the confines of your home. I imagined the man singing but now I think maybe the woman will sing based on some of the song titles. So, they're married and forgive me about the assumptions I made earlier. Do I know any of these songs? Well this is 80's prom music so I guess I was sort of right. Woof. I'm not sure I like this. It's like it made way for some Jewel or Pink or Natalie Imbruglia in the 90s. OK but as a guy whose wife is pregnant with twin girls, These Early Days got me. The harpsichord crap is terrible though. Oh but she ruined it by using a boy's name at the end. Damnit Jimmy. There were other songs that I kind of weirdly enjoyed. I kept saying this isn't for me. This is a lounge act. This isn't good. But then I started liking songs and I said fuck it. There's something here, but I'm not sure what it is. Fuck it. 5 stars. I was going to go with 3 stars, but no. 5 stars. Don't tell anyone.

Boring-ass snoozefest of an album. Sounds like a bad performance at a lounge. Hasn't aged well. I like her voice and the song "Apron Strings", but that's about it. 2/5.

Why?

The idiot who compiled this list sure loves sophisticrap.

Glossy 80s pop with a heavy dose of smooth jazz. Chimey slowed-down Johnny Marr-wannabe guitars and some bright synth sounds combined with a busy neo-soul bass and Kenny G saxophone. It sort of works? The songs are all lush and slow artifice with a chorus-pedal sound saturating the album. No real distinctions between the songs, it's a mood album that's calm relaxed and upbeat- but that's another word for boring. The sound of the milk aisle in the early 90s.

The good: Tracey Thorne has a nice voice. The bad: Elevator Music. Zzzzz. Didn't need to hear this. The only track I really liked was the first one, the Crazy Horse cover "I Don't Want to Talk About It." It had a real nice vibe. The rest was boring adult contemporary music/cheesy 80s pop. Next.

With the first notes of this album I thought that this was a curious opener to an album. Slow processed guitar and a typical 80's ballad with some cheesy lyrics.
Then the synth like violins started swelling up in the background and it all turned to kitsch.
Unfortunately the album went downhill after that.
What an atrocity.

That was an adorable album. Nice and gentle but still interesting. I liked it a lot.

Uninspiring background music. Prefer to never listen again. 1/5

smooth jazz - thought they were electronica.....

A few good songs but not a huge fan of this music

I have no idea why something like this is on this list. It's just flat out boring, there's nothing in the insturmentals or lyrics that make you say *Hey* You have to listen to this before you die.

No conocía este disco de ellos, pero empieza bien. Antes de la electrónica era un grupo casi de jazz. Me gustan igualmente para una escucha tranquila. Recomendable pero no creo que imprescindible.

I listened to this twice and it completely washed over me both times. Absolutely nothing stuck. I'm actually kind of amazed at how completely neutral this music is. It's like reverse osmosis water.

The album has the feel of a lounge act playing the early-bird happy hour at the Holiday Inn. I have no idea why this album would be something that anyone would have to hear before they die.