The Birthday Suit – The Eleventh Hour (Due for release 11th Nov)
This level of indie-nostalgia is a stark reminder of how good we had it in the nineties
As the lead guitarist and songwriter for Idlewild, Rod Jones has played the dingy gigs to a crowd of 12, he has won that all important first record deal, and has since gone onto mingle with the music elite.
So having now supported the likes of REM, U2 and The Rolling Stones, the challenge for Rod in starting his solo project, ‘The Birthday Suit’, was not getting noticed by record labels, but validating his fresh start with a sound distinctive to that of Idlewild’s.
And on first impressions, he has not succeeded in re-branding himself or his music; with the same noisy pop flooding every track.
Yet the fact that this debut is not a meagre attempt to be different; and Rod has not succumbed to the pressure of reinvention, is what makes ‘The Eleventh Hour’ the uplifting collection of songs that it undoubtedly is.
Much of the music offered here would sit nicely in early Idlewild albums such as ‘100 Broken Windows’ and that should not be seen as a negative.
Instead of senselessly distancing himself from his previous work, Rod has written a monument to the noisy backlash to brit-pop, which originally sound-tracked the transition between the nineties and ‘naughties’.
Every second of these eleven tracks is drenched in indie-rock nostalgia, complete with crunching melodies akin to early Serafin, whining vocals that pay homage to Mark Greany of JJ72 and the occasional epic chorus, reminding us of REMs capacity for the grandiose.
At times (On My Own) the similarities between The Eleventh Hour and Idlewild are too apparent; and the pleasantly familiar tone of the album starts to tire.
The antithesis to this is that winning formula of brittle string sections and catchy lead guitar, which originally made Idlewild one of the most successful Scottish bands in history.
Tracks such as ‘Hope Me Home’ build up to dramatic choruses and subside back into placid verses, guided throughout by euphoric strings and pulsating drums.
Equally, in songs like ‘Taking Over By You’ we are reminded that when stripped of its distortion and fuzz, Rod’s songs are quietly beautiful; utterly reliant on well-structured melodies and intertwining harmonies.
So this isn’t a pioneering, genre defining collection of music, but it is a reminder that quality shouldn’t be reassessed over time; the indie-pop recipe that got Idlewild noticed, will do the same for The Birthday Suit; even if it is primarily amongst the same audience.
Track Listing:
1. Do You Ever?
2. Hope Me Home
3. They Say I Love You
4. On My Own
5. Sell It All
6. World Gone By
7. Are You Ok?
8. A Nation
9. Don’t Look Down
10. The Eleventh Hour
11. Talking Over You
Release: 11th November 2011
Label: Sing It Alone Records
