Five stars

There was tangible love in the room on Saturday as prodigal sons Idlewild stepped onto the stage for the first of two back-to-back nights at the O2 ABC. Perhaps if that love had burned as brightly six or seven years ago, they wouldn't have needed to take such a long hiatus from recording and playing live. Then again, a little bit of distance from each other and a reshuffling of personnel seems to have revitalised the band - and their fan base.

While original members Rod Jones (guitar), Colin Newton (drums) and Roddy Woomble (vocals) provide the bridge from the back catalogue to the new material, it's the additions of Andrew Mitchell, Lucci Rossi and Hannah Fisher - all rotating between guitars, bass, keyboards and, in Fisher's case, fiddle - that opens out the Idlewild sound to something that's fuller, richer, more diverse than ever before.

Old favourites sounded thrillingly fresh as the sheer force of five-part vocal harmonies were applied to You Held The World In Your Arms, Roseability and American English, with Fisher often picking up what was once a guitar riff or solo on the fiddle without it becoming too folky. And when things got heavier - Little Discourage, A Film For The Future, Captain - Rossi's input on the organ made them more soulful too.

Songs lifted from recent Top 20 album Everything Ever Written stood out in the new custom-fit format, though. Collect Yourself had a beefy, brash swagger; Come On Ghost featured a gorgeous drop-down harmony in the chorus; (Use It) If You Can Use It took the roof off with Jones and Mitchell's southern boogie double-guitar head-to-head. Pray that there's more from where this came from.