Idles : Tangk

Idles started out as this punk/pub hybrid of a band. You could hear the sound they were heading towards on their first two records, Brutalism(2017) and Joy as an Act of Resistance(2018), but the Bristol band were still finding themselves. It wasn’t until Ultra Mono(2020) that the post-punk stomp and singer Joe Talbot’s barking militant meets apocalyptic vocals came into true focus. A year later and 2021’s Crawler would deliver the goods, paid in full.

With the band’s new album, Tangk, they enlisted the help of Radiohead’s longtime producer/svengali Nigel Godrich(along with Crawler producer Kenny Beats) to take the band into newer, dancier territory. The result is Idles indeed pushing into new, dancefloor-ready territory while never losing their edge.

Tangk is split up into different vibes. There’s the groove-heavy tracks and then there’s the quieter and more introspective tracks. First single “Dancer” is in the former category. Joe Talbot has always proselytized more than he’s sung, and “Dancer” is Talbot wanting to get us on the dancefloor to dance “hip to hip/cheek to cheek“. It worked, as every time I hear that song I want to move. It helps when you have LCD Soundsystem jumping in on the track. “Gift Horse”, likewise, jumps out of the gate like a party at the end of the world. Disco rhythm and Talbot delivering lines like razor wire. It’s a killer track and you can’t help but punch the air as this song blasts your brain.

“POP POP POP” is subtle menace with cracking drums, ambient hums, and Joe Talbot giving us his best Tricky impression. In harsh contrast album opener “IDEA 01” has dream-like wistfulness to it as piano notes waver in the air while the vocals leave menace at the door in favor of almost balladry. Of course Nigel Godrich adds his studio wizardry over top to give it a sense of otherworldly contemplation.

One of the biggest surprises here is “Grace”, which hums in sonic positivity as a shuffling drum line and almost Eno-esque noise engulfs the track. Joe Talbot’s vocals are both subtle and front and center. This is an epic track that never blows out of the speakers. This is subtle aggression. “No crown, no ring/ I said, love is the thing“.

From the proto-punk of “Hall & Oates” to the plodding bass of “Gratitude” to synth/sax-led album closer “Monolith”, Idles sand down the rough edges of past records to a fine curve. But keep in mind, Tangk is still heavy and will take you out with a surprise left hook when you least expect it.