speed of dark

On his solo album My Secret Is My Silence Roddy Woomble, lead singer and songwriter for Idlewild, takes his familiar voice and sound on a detour away from rock and into the Scottish Highlands. The album has been available since last year in the U.K, but it was only released July 10 in the U.S.

Co-written with fellow Idlewilder Rod Jones, it is unmistakably Idlewild-ish, but instead of Idlewild's rock rhythms and layers of electric guitars, you'll hear a more a more organic, acoustic sound and more traditional Scottish/Irish flavors of violin (John McCusker) and Uliean pipes (Michael McGoldrick).

You'll also hear another wonderful addition: female vocals sweetening and lightening the mix. Kate Rusby returns a favor with backing vocals (Woomble contributed to her album The Girl Who Couldn't Fly), and Karine Polwart also joins in.

"As Still As I Watch Your Grave" would have sounded at home on Idlewild's last record Make Another World, except that here the violin and female backing vocals give it an entirely different dimension. "Whiskyface" is a jaunty Gaelic number that will have you dancing a jig.

This is a delicate and delicious album from beginning to end. Nonetheless, I do have a distinct favorite, and that is "Waverly Steps." It's a song of deep hope and faith, just keeping going when there's no reason to do so, even when the steps are "waverly." Yeah.

If there's no geography
In the things that we say
So words will keep us locked
In their old-fashioned way
Sure we are held together by
The experiences we've shared
But it's taken me
Waverly steps to get there
Close the front door
To open the window
Let the light be mined away
At least the light is mine always
But even the light will fade away

You can be carried away by the gorgeous fiddle in the title song and on "Under My Breath." There are more tracks to listen to on his MySpace page. I recommend this album highly, especially for fans of Idlewild. For those who are not familiar with the band, this could be a good introduction. This is a good CD to play on a long driving trip alone. The music will engage you and the lyrics will lift your heart.

From My Secret Is My Silence
Roddy Woomble: My Secret Is My Silence
Roddy Woomble: Waverly Steps

Roddy Woomble MySpace | Homepage | Label: Pure Records | Lyrics
Buy at Pure Records Store, iTunes, and Amazon.com