“No one weaponises passion quite like Idles. While their arsenal may vary, the mode of attack is always guns blazing. Last year’s Ultra Mono was criticised for its simplicity and lack of development, as the West Country quintet reduced and perfected their breathtaking gut-punch, post-punk aesthetic. The same faults can’t be aimed at this expansive yet introspective sequel. Glass-gargling frontman J”
“The Bristol band’s fourth record is magnetic storytelling tempered with newfound patience”
“Though IDLES frontman Joe Talbot has been praised as an emotionally open and frank lyricist, we know little about the man himself. On the Bristol band’s debut album ‘Brutalism’ and its adored follow-up ‘Joy As An Act Of Resistance’, Talbot’s iron-clad manifestos of vulnerability, openness and the rejection of norms – largely among young men – saw him become the inadvertent mouthpiece for a new gen”
“CRAWLER is IDLES at their most destructive and most intimate”
“Exploring personal subject matter and wider musical terrain, the Bristol band’s fourth album plays like the dark origin story for how Idles became the preeminent life coaches of modern post-punk.”
“A year on, and you get the feeling that the success of Ultra Mono has been a bit of a double-edged sword for Idles. On the one hand, it’s the record that has really put the band on the map. Still, a bigger platform often comes with more scrutiny, and a series of high-profile bust-ups and social media criticism has clearly left the band questioning their trajectory. Rather than kicking against the”
