Hope Is Important is the debut studio album by Scottish rock band Idlewild, released 26 October 1998 through Food Records. After finalizing their line-up and releasing two singles in 1997, the band released their mini album Captain in early 1998. Afterwards, the band signed with Food Records, and recorded their debut album between February and June 1998 at Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire and Westland Studios in Dublin with producer Paul Tipler. Described as a grunge and punk rock album, Hope Is Important was compared to Bleach (1989) by Nirvana.

"A Film for the Future" and "Everyone Says You're So Fragile" were released as the album's first two singles on 27 April 1998 and 6 July 1998, respectively. They were followed with some festival performances and a tour with labelmates Blur. The album's third single, "I'm a Message", was released on 12 October 1998. Early in 1999, the band went on tour in the UK. On February 5, 1999, the band released the album's fourth single, "When I Argue I See Shapes."

Hope Is Important received generally favourable reviews from music critics, some of whom praised the songwriting and Idlewild's energy. The album charted at number 44 in Scotland, and number 53 in the UK; it was also certified silver in the UK. All of the songs appeared on the Scottish and UK Singles Charts, with "When I Argue I See Shapes" charting the highest at number 15 in Scotland, and number 19 in the UK. Hope Is Important appeared on a best-of-the-year album list by NME, as well as a best Scottish albums list by The Herald.

Background and production

Roddy Woomble lived in Greenville, South Carolina, USA, between the ages of 13 and 15, where his music taste assimilated various punk and alternative rock albums. Upon moving to Scotland, he wanted to start a band that emulated the sound of those releases. In late 1995, Idlewild formed in Edinburgh, with its initial line-up consisting of Woomble on vocals, Rod Jones on guitar, Phil Scanlon on bass, and Colin Newton on drums. The band parted ways with Scanlon and replaced him with Bob Fairfoull.

Around this time, the members had abandoned plans for university or employment to focus on the band full-time, and Bruce Craigie became the band's manager. Publicity from their live performances, which included tours with Midget and the Warm Jets, resulted in the band signing with Food Records.

Composition and lyrics

Musically, the sound of Hope Is Important has been described as grunge and punk rock, with influence from indie rock, drawing comparison to Bleach (1989) by Nirvana. Half of the tracks were written in 1997, with the remainder being done in the opening months of 1998. Author Andy Greenwald said the album switched between "minute-long punk screamfests" and "string-laden melodic odes". In 2008, Woomble viewed it as an "incomplete album" due to its sound of an artist that is "split between their past and future and with barely any studio experience to document it properly". Woomble said it was a fair representation of the band's live performances from the time period due to its abrasive and upbeat sound. which was followed by the band performing at the Glastonbury Festival. Additional performances at other festivals, and a stint with labelmates Blur followed. "I'm a Message" was released as a single on 12 October 1998; two versions were released on CD: the first included "Mince Showercap (Part 3)" and "This Is Worse", while the second also had radio session versions of "Satan Polaroid" and "You've Lost Your Way". Music videos for "A Film for the Future", "Everyone Says You're So Fragile", and "I'm a Message" were directed by Berg. To promote the release, the band supported Ash on their European tour. In January and February 1999, the band toured the UK as part of the NME Premier Tour with Unkle, Delakota, and the Llama Farmers. A re-recorded version of "When I Argue I See Shapes" was released as a single on 1 February 1999. Two versions were released on CD: the first with a cover of "Palace Flophouse" (1999) by Peeps into Fairyland and a re-recorded version of "Chandelier", while the second featured the album version of "When I Argue I See Shapes", alongside "(1903-70)" and a live version of "Last Night I Missed All the Fireworks". The music video for "When I Argue I See Shapes" was directed by filmmaker duo James and Alex. Hope Is Important was released in the United States on 12 October 1999 through Odeon and Capitol Records.

Hope Is Important was played in full in December 2008 at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow as part of a series of shows where the band performed all of their albums. "When I Argue I See Shapes" and "I'm a Message" were included on the band's first compilation album, Scottish Fiction: Best of 1997–2007 (2007), alongside the music videos for all of the album's singles. "When I Argue I See Shapes", "I'm Happy to Be Here Tonight", and "Everyone Says You're So Fragile" were included on the band's third compilation album, The Collection (2010).

Reception

Critical response

Hope Is Important was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. Entertainment Weekly writer Mike Flaherty said the band of "pop craftsmen [were] more mature than four years together would indicate, gilding sophisticated pop tunesmanship with a ragged indie edge".

AllMusic reviewer MacKenzie Wilson said the album "exudes the fiery nature of four young guys yearning to make their own way in modern rock despite the popularity of the three-chord riff". She said the lyrics were not as poetic as they would be on the band's second studio album 100 Broken Windows (2000), "[b]ut it's there, and it's enjoyably humorous". and number 53 in the UK. "Everyone Says You're So Fragile" charted at number 42 in Scotland, and number 47 in the UK. and number 41 in the UK. and number 19 in the UK.

Hope Is Important was included in a list of writers' favourite Scottish albums by The Herald, where journalist Martin Williams described it as "a startling explosion of singalong hooks, soft-loud dynamics and crashing guitars". NME ranked it at number 33 on their list of the top 50 albums of the year. Mastersystem have cited it and 100 Broken Windows as influences on their debut album Dance Music (2018).

Track listing

Track listing per sleeve.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.

Idlewild

  • Bob Fairfoull – bass
  • Rod Jones – guitar
  • Colin Newton – drums
  • Roddy Woomble – vocals

Additional musicians

  • Ken Rice – violin <small>(track 11)</small>
  • Salli Carson – vocals <small>(track 9)</small>

Production and design

  • Paul Tipler – producer, mixing
  • James Anderson – studio assistant
  • Dave Slevin – studio assistant
  • Andrew Nicolls – studio assistant
  • Roddy Woomble – photography
  • Ian Ritterskamp – band photography
  • Anonymous – design

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Chart performance for Hope Is Important

! scope="col"| Chart (1998)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

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Certifications

References

<!-- This is a licensed stream for the album, which is allowed under Wikipedia polices -->

  • Hope Is Important at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
  • Live review from January 1999 at The Independent