If one of the most respected musicians in Scotland (Roddy) decides that being in a dripping cool rock band (Idlewild) is momentarily dull and turns his creative attentions to the anti-rock (folk music), it’s only right that his hired team comprise of the best in the business (Kate Rusby, Dave Burlinton, and Michael McGoldrick).
With some contemporary musicians thrown in for good measure – Idlewild guitarist Rod Jones, his wife and Sons & Daughters bassist Ailidh Lennon, for example – it’s like an X Factor team of experts turning a spotty 16-year-old into Britain’s brightest hope. Voila! Roddy’s transformed into a bona fide folk star – even down to the bird-habitating beard.
Woomble’s justification for the solo project is correct: none of the songs would fit comfortably into an Idlewild album. Some, like ‘As Still As I Watch Your Grave’, come close, and others, such as the jig-worthy ‘Whiskeyface’, bear no resemblence to chart music, but instead conjure up images of Temple Bar ‘traditional’ pubs, and not only because of the title.
It’s distinctly Roddy at the helm, his languid vocals and instinct for a wistful tune accommodating this new style better than anyone would have thought from reading the idea on paper.
Does this mean he should give up his day job? Hell no!