Photo Credit: Daniel Topete
IDLES are marmite in the context of rock music. You either absolutely love them, or probably can’t stand them. Thankfully for the Bristol band, the majority absolutely love them.
Since their 2017 debut Brutalism, the band have gone from strength to strength and have established themselves as the premier post-punk band of this generation.
Within that time, they have released four LPs, with their sophomore effort Joy as an Act of Resistance being the clear pinnacle of their discography – an album that punched as much as it hugged.
It’s fair to say the band haven’t quite reached the heights of that record with their next two LPs (Ultra Mono and Crawler). Although they are respectable albums, they just haven’t quite taken IDLES to the next level.
Onto TANGK now, opening with a kick drum, frenetic piano and a trippy synth, it already feels a bit different to previous efforts. Idea 1 is dark, unpredictable, and marks the start of the next chapter for the band.
One of the singles, Gift Horse, comes next. This is a much more traditional IDLES song, and you can tell from the bass intro immediately. Lyrics like “can he run in a tutu, he looks a little long in the gold tooth” accompanied by some almost Jonathan Davis of Korn beatboxing style (if that’s what you call it?), this is certainly a fun track with a strong chorus. You’ll definitely be shouting along to “fuck the king, he ain’t the king, she’s the king!”
The more complex production in this LP is already becoming more apparent a few tracks in. On the drums alone, the production in POP POP POP is immense. This is a track that feels like a song from one of their first EPs, Meat. It’s dark and slightly unclear what lead vocalist, Joe Talbot, is singing about. A stretched-out finish to this track is slightly strangely done, with Talbot’s weird vocal production missing the mark.
Roy has some old school guitar twanging, before going into a unique chorus. It does seem like IDLES are putting a lot of effort into their production on this LP, it’s hard to say whether that’s for better or worse so far.
Onto A Gospel, which continues the moody theme of TANGK with some very strange pieces of production, with the slow song occasionally breaking into this weird, heavily edited violin piece. The piano is nice, that’s all you can really say about this one.
Lead single Dancer is next, featuring the wonderful LCD Soundsystem. That bass is pretty damn heavy, accompanied by a renewed sense of life in Talbot’s delivery and lyrics. The album seems to be turning a corner, despite a slightly annoying group chorus.
Following on from this turning point in the album, the best track on the album follows. Grace sees the Bristolians mastering that darker side of post-punk, with Jon Beavis producing a fantastic drumbeat, accompanied by Talbot’s heartfelt delivery of “no god, no king, I said love is the thing.” It’s powerful and has an eerie effect on the listener.
Hall & Oates, a track that references the famous 1970’s pop-rock duo, is vintage IDLES once again. A proper punky two or so minute track, it’s just a shame they’ve opted for the group chorus again.
Into the back end of the LP, Jungle builds and builds and doesn’t quite deliver. While Gratitude has a nice change of tempo a minute in, as Talbot speaks of “grat-i-tood” in a style Mark E Smith would’ve been proud of. It’s a track that is made for the finger drummers amongst us.
Album finale Monolith is a forgettable track with not loads to talk about. A production heavy track with not a lot going on, aside from peculiar noises and a bizarre solo at the end.
As referenced at the beginning, IDLES are a marmite band and TANGK certainly exemplifies that. Some tracks are fantastic, while some show a band going in a worrying direction, one that is certainly a long walk away from the music they make best. TANGK does provide glimpses of how good the band can be, but sadly these are just glimpses.
6.5/10
Standouts Tracks: Gift Horse, Grace, Gratitude
For Fans Of: Fontaines DC, LCD Soundsystem, The Murder Capital
Written by: Joe Loughran
