Track Listing

1. Little Discourage
2. I Don't Have The Map
3. These Wooden Ideas
4. Roseability
5. Idea Track
6. Let Me Sleep (Next To The Mirror)
7. Listen To What You've Got
8. Actually It's Darkness
9. Rusty
10. Mistake Pageant
11. Quite Crown
12. Bronze Medal

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8682 in Music
• Released on: 2000-04-10
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
What often makes the best bands such an attractive proposition is the fact that they usually have a total disregard for what's going on around them. Listening to Idlewild's 100 Broken Windows is like hearing the thoughts of four people who have chosen to seal themselves off from the outside world, with only a treasured collection of American underground rock records and indie films for company. The roaring, insistent guitars of "Idea Track" are challenged by Idlewild's insistence on combining accessible vocals with growling, while "Little Discourage" is pure film noir claustrophobia. That's not to say they don't have their lighter moods. "Mistake Pageant" is an inspiring exercise in pop with brains, just like REM used to make. 100 Broken Windows is an assured and largely faultless follow up to Hope Is Important, and a big step from a band that continues to grow. --Emma Johnston

Customer Reviews

These Brilliant Ideas
From the first to the last, there isn't one song that i dislike on ths album. There is definitely more thinking and less shouting done on this album. When the shouting occurs, it's in small bursts such as "Idea Track", but the thinking is present in the more harmonic numbers such as "Quiet Crown" and "Bronze Medal", ideally the closing tracks from the album. The highlights are definitely live favourite "A Little Discourage" and "These Wooden Ideas" but then the sheer simplicity of "I Don't Have The Map" and "Roseability" prove that the most basic ideas still herald success. Dealing with such themes as loss and lack of possession, Idlewild have created a non idyllic atmosphere where sometimes failure is acceptable. Winning the bronze medal isn't so bad they say, but this has to deserve an outright gold.

Enigmatic and striking
It is difficult to know where to start when reviewing this album. It is an amazing acheivement. As someone who played in a heavy guitar band for a few years, I am in awe at the quality of '100 Broken Windows'. It is energetic yet comforting, distorted yet melodic. The beautifully crafted songs are mostly played using the same guitar sound, and the production is such to keep a raw intensity to the music. This inheriently gives a 'samey' feel to most tracks, but in a good way. In my mind it emotes similar feelings to The Smiths' fist album, with songs working together to create something more than just individual tracks. There is an almost tangible atmosphere to this album, it is a grim yet affirming view of life. Lyrically, much is enigmatic. I think the lyrics will mean very different things to different people. Overall, this band has risen to be my favourite at moment, and even when I find something new that takes its place in my record player, this album (the first Idlewild record I heard), will always be near the top of the CD pile.

a must buy album for people that love a little difference
I have found with a lot of these reviews that people give all or nothing. example 1-5 stars and little in between. This album as a whole is amazing and will draw you in. The first time I heard it I thought it was ok. Then I played it again and relised I wasnt skipping tracks like I normally would with most CD's. The third time i heard it I clicked, Idlewilds SOUND is what grabs you and makes you listen, theres no other band out there doing what they are musically, each song has a great guitar line, and catchy chorus you can hum on the way down to the bus stop or into town, and Roddys vocals are just stand out, marking him as an up and coming vocalist.
My only draw back on the album is that some of the elements are too quiet, often the vocals were shaded out by guitar and drumming. Dont get me wrong its not awful, far from it, but I would have liked to hear this albums sound definition done in the same style as the My Vitriol Album, which has amazing guitar parts but crystal clear vocals and drumming, all at the right volume. If only that had been done I would have a new favorite album, never the less 100 Broken Windows is a stand out album from a stand out band, you really have to hear it to understand what im talking about. cheers.