Post Electric Blues
Encyclopedia
Post Electric Blues is the sixth full-length studio album by Scottish
indie rock
band Idlewild
, self-released to around 3000 fans in June 2009. The album was subsequently released on October 5, 2009 on Cooking Vinyl
. Prior to recording, guitarist Rod Jones
revealed that the album has "quite an upbeat musical feel," and that it sounds "like a band having a good time."
Upon the album's traditional release, Jones stated: "I think the way we approached making this record, and doing things ourselves and involving our fans just gave us the freedom and time to do what we wanted to do without any pressure. I think it has been a turning point for us."
The album peaked at #90 in the UK Album Charts in its first week of physical release. It might have charted higher but the band sold a number of pre-order copies via their website, which is not a registered chart company.
The album's first single, "Readers & Writers" was released digitally on September 28.
The album was performed in full on May 19, 2009 at Dingwalls, in London
.
, Idlewild's label, Sanctuary Records
, went into administration, leaving the band without a recording contract. Idlewild subsequently decided to release their next studio album directly to their fanbase. In November 2008, the band launched a new website, www.idlewildmusic.com, with the following message:
Those that pre-ordered the album received fifteen exclusive live tracks from the band's recent King Tut's
residency, blog
entries from band members and exclusive video footage from the recording process.
According to vocalist Roddy Woomble
, the first track written for Post Electric Blues was album opener "Younger Than America". Influenced by Westerns and Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Woomble states that:
Regarding the album's lyrical content, Woomble states that he wanted "to have a more off-the-cuff feel to the record".
In early January 2009, the band entered pre-production with frequent producer Dave Eringa
at their rehearsal space in Rosyth
, Fife
. In February, Idlwild and Eriga decamped to a converted farm house in Bethesda
, Wales
, near Snowdonia National Park, to record the album. The band spent two weeks recording the album in Wales, before returning to Scotland
to add overdubs from additional musicians, John Blackshaw, John McCusker
and Heidi Talbot
at Chem19 Studios. By March, guitarist Rod Jones
and Eringa had relocated to Eringa's house in London to being mixing the album. At this time, Jones began recording his debut solo album, A Sentimental Education using Eringa's equipment.
The album was subsequently posted to fans in June 2009, and released on October 5, 2009 on Cooking Vinyl
records.
. Regarding the album's artwork, vocalist Roddy Woomble
states that:
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Idlewild
Idlewild (band)
Idlewild are a Scottish rock band, formed in Edinburgh, in 1995, comprising Roddy Woomble , Rod Jones , Colin Newton , Allan Stewart and Gareth Russell...
, self-released to around 3000 fans in June 2009. The album was subsequently released on October 5, 2009 on Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music—notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases...
. Prior to recording, guitarist Rod Jones
Rod Jones (musician)
Rodric "Rod" Iwan Pryce Jones is the guitarist and backing vocalist for indie rock band Idlewild.Son of classical musician, John Pryce-Jones, Jones is an energetic live performer, and his guitar playing has been described as "gritty yet melodic."In 2000 Jones played second guitar for Graham Coxon...
revealed that the album has "quite an upbeat musical feel," and that it sounds "like a band having a good time."
Upon the album's traditional release, Jones stated: "I think the way we approached making this record, and doing things ourselves and involving our fans just gave us the freedom and time to do what we wanted to do without any pressure. I think it has been a turning point for us."
The album peaked at #90 in the UK Album Charts in its first week of physical release. It might have charted higher but the band sold a number of pre-order copies via their website, which is not a registered chart company.
The album's first single, "Readers & Writers" was released digitally on September 28.
The album was performed in full on May 19, 2009 at Dingwalls, in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Background and recording
Following the release of Make Another WorldMake Another World
Make Another World is the fifth full-length studio album by Scottish rock band Idlewild, released on 5 March 2007 through Sequel Records. The album is the first to feature bassist Gareth Russell, following Gavin Fox's departure at the end of 2005, and is their first since leaving Parlophone...
, Idlewild's label, Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records
Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...
, went into administration, leaving the band without a recording contract. Idlewild subsequently decided to release their next studio album directly to their fanbase. In November 2008, the band launched a new website, www.idlewildmusic.com, with the following message:
Those that pre-ordered the album received fifteen exclusive live tracks from the band's recent King Tut's
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar in on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts...
residency, blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
entries from band members and exclusive video footage from the recording process.
According to vocalist Roddy Woomble
Roddy Woomble
Roderick "Roddy" Woomble is the lead singer of Scottish rock band, Idlewild and a solo contemporary folk musician. To date, Woomble has released six full-length studio albums with Idlewild, and two solo albums, My Secret is My Silence and The Impossible Song & Other Songs...
, the first track written for Post Electric Blues was album opener "Younger Than America". Influenced by Westerns and Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Woomble states that:
Regarding the album's lyrical content, Woomble states that he wanted "to have a more off-the-cuff feel to the record".
In early January 2009, the band entered pre-production with frequent producer Dave Eringa
Dave Eringa
Dave Eringa is an English record producer from Essex who has engineered, mixed, produced, and played on albums by such bands as Manic Street Preachers, Ocean Colour Scene, Idlewild, 3 Colours Red, South and Johnny Boy...
at their rehearsal space in Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
. In February, Idlwild and Eriga decamped to a converted farm house in Bethesda
Bethesda
Bethesda , originally referring to the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem , may also refer to:-United States:*Bethesda, Davidson County, North Carolina...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, near Snowdonia National Park, to record the album. The band spent two weeks recording the album in Wales, before returning to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to add overdubs from additional musicians, John Blackshaw, John McCusker
John McCusker
John McCusker is a Scottish folk musician, record producer and composer. An accomplished fiddle player, he had a long association as a member of the Battlefield Band beginning in the 1990s and was later a band member and producer for folk singer Kate Rusby...
and Heidi Talbot
Heidi Talbot
Heidi Talbot is an Irish folk singer from Kill, County Kildare, Ireland. Talbot is the former singer of Irish-American musical group Cherish the Ladies.-Early life and education:...
at Chem19 Studios. By March, guitarist Rod Jones
Rod Jones (musician)
Rodric "Rod" Iwan Pryce Jones is the guitarist and backing vocalist for indie rock band Idlewild.Son of classical musician, John Pryce-Jones, Jones is an energetic live performer, and his guitar playing has been described as "gritty yet melodic."In 2000 Jones played second guitar for Graham Coxon...
and Eringa had relocated to Eringa's house in London to being mixing the album. At this time, Jones began recording his debut solo album, A Sentimental Education using Eringa's equipment.
The album was subsequently posted to fans in June 2009, and released on October 5, 2009 on Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music—notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases...
records.
Artwork
The album's artwork features band photographs taken by photographer David Gillanders. The photographs were taken in January 2009 at the band's rehearsal studio in RosythRosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
. Regarding the album's artwork, vocalist Roddy Woomble
Roddy Woomble
Roderick "Roddy" Woomble is the lead singer of Scottish rock band, Idlewild and a solo contemporary folk musician. To date, Woomble has released six full-length studio albums with Idlewild, and two solo albums, My Secret is My Silence and The Impossible Song & Other Songs...
states that:
Leak
A note was included with the pre-order album package thanking fans for their patience and asking them not to upload the album on to the internet. However, this note was ignored and it has been freely available on the internet since mid-June 2009.Track listing
All songs written by Jones/Newton/Russell/Stewart/Woomble.- "Younger Than America" – 3:57
- "Readers & Writers" – 2:50
- "City Hall" – 3:21
- "(The Night Will) Bring You Back to Life" – 3:24
- "Dreams of Nothing" – 3:08
- "Take Me Back to the Islands" – 4:58
- "Post-electric" – 5:08
- "All Over the Town" – 2:07
- "To Be Forgotten" – 3:23
- "Circles in Stars" – 3:47
- "Take Me Back in Time" – 4:38
B-sides
- "No Wiser" – 3:26 (pre-order bonus track)
- "Take Away the Night Time" (standard release bonus track)
- "Take Me Back In Time" (demo) (standard release bonus track)
- "(The Night Will) Bring You Back to Life" (demo) ("Readers & Writers" b-side)
Personnel
- Roddy WoombleRoddy WoombleRoderick "Roddy" Woomble is the lead singer of Scottish rock band, Idlewild and a solo contemporary folk musician. To date, Woomble has released six full-length studio albums with Idlewild, and two solo albums, My Secret is My Silence and The Impossible Song & Other Songs...
- lead vocals - Rod JonesRod Jones (musician)Rodric "Rod" Iwan Pryce Jones is the guitarist and backing vocalist for indie rock band Idlewild.Son of classical musician, John Pryce-Jones, Jones is an energetic live performer, and his guitar playing has been described as "gritty yet melodic."In 2000 Jones played second guitar for Graham Coxon...
- guitar, backing vocals, keyboards - Colin NewtonColin NewtonColin Newton is the Scottish drummer for the Scottish indie rock band, Idlewild....
- drums, percussion - Allan StewartAllan Stewart (musician)Allan Stewart is a guitarist in the band Idlewild and also DeSalvo. He comes from Farnborough, England. Stewart joined the band as a touring guitarist in 2001 and became a full member in 2003...
- guitar - Gareth RussellGareth RussellThis page refers to the musician Gareth Russell, for the author click here Gareth Russell .Gareth Russell is the bass guitarist for Idlewild, joining the band in 2006, following the departure of Gavin Fox in 2005...
- bass - John Blackshaw - trumpet ("Readers & Writers")
- John McCuskerJohn McCuskerJohn McCusker is a Scottish folk musician, record producer and composer. An accomplished fiddle player, he had a long association as a member of the Battlefield Band beginning in the 1990s and was later a band member and producer for folk singer Kate Rusby...
- violin ("Younger Than America" and "Take Me Back to the Islands") - Heidi TalbotHeidi TalbotHeidi Talbot is an Irish folk singer from Kill, County Kildare, Ireland. Talbot is the former singer of Irish-American musical group Cherish the Ladies.-Early life and education:...
- vocals ("Younger Than America" and "Take Me Back to the Islands") - Dave EringaDave EringaDave Eringa is an English record producer from Essex who has engineered, mixed, produced, and played on albums by such bands as Manic Street Preachers, Ocean Colour Scene, Idlewild, 3 Colours Red, South and Johnny Boy...
- producer, engineer, mixing, hammond organHammond organThe Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
("Younger Than America", "Readers & Writers" and "Take Me Back to the Islands") - Tom Loffman - mixing engineer
- Ed Woods - mastering
- David Gillanders - photography
- Monkeywithapen - design
- Andy Irvine - web tech
- Mika Okamoto - additional web tech