This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
The last time I talked to Osker’s grouchy frontman Devon Williams, he raved about Winnipeg’s Weakerthans. Looks like the L.A. lad has taken John Samson’s message to heart.
Idle Will Kill, the sophomore album from the teenage hardcore prodigy, tears up the high school-yearbook angst of his debut Treatment 5; in its place, Devon moves closer to the sort of wistful punk romanticism that is Samson’s stock in trade. This 45-minute disc’s 14 songs read like entries in Devon’s diary — his poetic lyrics deliver fearlessly forthcoming, literate tales of late-adolescent disillusionment and indignation. Like any angry young man, Devon’s soaring, insistent vocals betray his idealism that fuels his outrage, while his explosively powerful yet tastefully restrained bursts of churning emo-punk chart one of the most impressive growth spurts in indie-rock. I can’t wait to hear the music this guy makes when he gets old — like, say, 22.
