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New Musical Express (NME)Where 'The Remote Part' was their 'Green'-esque lunge into the spotlight, 'Warnings/Promises' is their full-blwon 'Out Of Time' spectacular. But with less twangle, more teeth. [5 Mar 2005, p.50]
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Idlewild may still be figuring out exactly how to juggle its conflicting elements, but there are more than enough truly bright spots on Warnings/Promises to remind the listener of what the band is capable of when it fires on all cylinders -- and even when it doesn't.
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FilterThey've arrived at a more basic and touching--at times sleep-inducing--music that lingers for better and for worse. [#16, p.89]
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Woomble’s lyrics, while literate, are never quite as clever as his supporters would like to believe.
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‘Warnings / Promises’ is the work of a band pushing itself to the limits of its generous, but ultimately not boundless musical ability.
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Q Magazine[An] album of considerable grace and poise. [Apr 2005, p.116]
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Warnings/Promises establishes Idlewild as a very good band, but also indicates that it probably won't ever be a great one.
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Warnings/Promises is even better [than The Remote Part], a set of hopeless love songs for sad-eyed city girls.
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MagnetSounding like mid-period R.E.M. isn't the noblest of ambitions, but it somehow seems to work. [#69, p.98]
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Songwriting chemistry is a tricky thing, and while having two or three competing voices can push writers to new heights, a group of five here leads to songs that are merely passable.
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MojoThere are times when their admiration for R.E.M. burns a little too brightly... but overall this marks another step forward. [Mar 2005, p.100]
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A slightly awkward composite of the band's old strengths and a flurry of new ideas.
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UncutWarnings/Promises was written on acoustic guitar and fleshed out in the studiio--a tactic that bears mixed results. [Apr 2005, p.97]
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At its best, the new album is as beguiling as Teenage Fanclub's recent effort Man-Made. At its worst, it's as turgid as R.E.M.'s most recent snoozer.
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The problem with Warnings/Promises is the material: the band failed to bring enough good song ideas with them when they went into the studio.
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It has one pace, and that pace is “mature”.
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Alternative PressIdlewild undeniably sound like a once-great band helplessly slipping into their confusing middle years. [Sep 2005, p.164]
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Under The RadarRarely gets its head above water. [#11, p.112]
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Even when the songs work (rarely), the band doesn’t; even when the lyrics work (read: never), the music doesn’t; even when guitars aren’t processed to sound like a cat in a dishwasher, the riffs suck.
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Idlewild has become predictable and boring.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 17 out of 22
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Mixed: 3 out of 22
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Negative: 2 out of 22
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Aug 15, 2011
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ChelseaMSep 22, 2006
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AndrewJNov 6, 2005