Idles Uncork One of the Most Innovative Rock Records in Years With the Bruising ‘Tangk’: Album Review
variety.comJem Aswad Executive Editor, Music These days it can be all too easy for rock fans to fall into despair. What was the last truly culture-shifting new rock band?
The Strokes? The White Stripes? Alternative forms of rock have been thriving, but it’s been a grim two decades for traditional guitar-based rock, as even the powers-that-be behind Grammy nominations seemed to have trouble finding worthy nominees beyond the usual Queens-of-the-Foo-Kings suspects (although they have branched out in recent years).
However, there is thunder on the horizon. While not a new act, British-Irish quintet Idles are one of the most exciting rock bands to emerge in decades: a wild fusion of hardcore punk and experimental electronic skronk with a ferociously commanding frontman in Joe Talbot and two guitarists whose rancorous din shows inspiration from ‘80s indie icons Sonic Youth and Big Black, as well as a strong influence from hip-hop and electronic music.
They’re one of the most exciting live acts you’ll see anywhere — a show in New York earlier this month found one of the guitarists plunge deep into the audience on their second song — and the group branches out even further on their fifth album “Tangk,” combining slower, darkly ambient and/or rhythmic songs with the blistering roar their audience hungers for. (They were also rock nominees for two 2023 Grammys!) The album’s production — from guitarist Mark Bowen, hip-hop auteur Kenny Beats and Radiohead veteran Nigel Godrich — is suitably next-level, and finds the band going both harder (“Dancer”) and softer (“Grace”) than ever, a dichotomy that is reflected in an utterly awesome official Idles T-shirt that reads, hilariously although not entirely accurately, “Hard rock for softies.”.
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