Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 08/29/2006
The album's title and pastoral cover image are the first signs that
Idlewild's
Roddy Woomble has gone
folk. And yes, a majority of
My Secret Is My Silence sees
Woomble operating in an acoustic
folk vein and even recruiting the sweet-voiced folkie
Kate Rusby to handle background vocals, harmonies, and occasional female counterpoints. But
Woomble heading into pastures and fields shouldn't be a surprise. While
Idlewild started out as a furious, messy
indie rock band,
Warnings/Promises, the group's most recent effort before this solo outing, sometimes skewed resolutely toward
R.E.M.'s more jangly moments. Other than the somewhat out-of-place instrumental flute-fest
"Whiskeyface," My Secret Is My Silence drifts between two poles. There are pensive, brittle
ballads like the gorgeous, lilting
"If I Could Name Any Name" and the introspective
"I Came from the Mountain" on one hand, and on the other hand midtempo to urgent storming tracks indistinguishable from
Idlewild fare other than the presence of fiddles and folksy percussion in the place of electric guitars and distortion pedals. Indeed,
Idlewild guitarist
Rod Jones co-wrote a handful of tracks and is a featured player throughout. Producer
John McCusker finds a solid middle ground between
traditional folk elements and catchy
rock sheen.
Woomble is in fine voice, and
Rusby's gentle tone is a perfect complement as she returns the favor
Woomble offered on her album
The Girl Who Couldn't Fly. On the title track,
Woomble sings about approaching land without a harbor and finding his way home, and stripping down his music to the roots on this solo effort, he seems to find himself emotionally centered and artistically renewed. This fragile but certain solo outing will please old and new fans alike.
~Tim DiGravina, All Music Guide
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